
filasK ~PFuu 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ENGLISH GRAMMAR 



CHAPTERS ON 



COMPOSITION, VERSIFICATION, PARAPHRASING, 
AND PUNCTUATION 



BY 



J. M. D. MEIKLEJOHN, M.A. 

PROCESSOR OP THE THEORY, HISTORY, AND PRACTICE OP EDUCATION 
IN THE UNIVERSITY OP ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND 



AMERICAN EDITION 
REVISED 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1907 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Cooip* Revived 

FEB I* QO/ 

Copyright En 

ss A p., 

COPY B 



n Copynght Entry ^ 

Q^oLv.i-. 7J7 

dLASS A XXc M l4o, 







PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 



The present volume is the first part of the author's "English 
Language — Its Grammar, History, and Literature." It comprises 
the department of Grammar, under which are included Etymology, 
Syntax, Analysis, Word Formation, and History, with a brief out- 
line of Composition and of Prosody. 

The second part includes the History of the English Language 
and the History of English Literature. The two may be had 
separately or bound together. Each constitutes a good one year's 
course of English study. The first part is suited for high schools ; 
the second, for high schools and colleges. 

The book, which is worthy of the wide reputation and ripe ex- 
perience of the eminent author, is distinguished throughout by 
clear, brief, and comprehensive statement and illustration. It 
is especially suited for private students or for classes desiring to 
make a brief and rapid review, and also for teachers who want 
only a brief text as a basis for their own instruction. 



Copyright, 1887 and 1906, 
By D. C. Heath fc Co. 



CONTENTS. 







PART L 






PAGE 


LANGUAGE • a o • • • • « 


1 


ORTHOGKAPHT ••••••« 


5 


ETYMOLOGY • • • • a • • 


8 


NOUNS o • • • • « 


9 


PRONOUNS • • • • • « 


23 


ADJECTIVES .•••••• 


28 


VERBS ..»••••• 


34 


ADVERBS .»••••« 


57 


PREPOSITIONS ..•••< 


58 


CONJUNCTIONS • • o . 


60 


INTERJECTIONS ...... 


60 


WORDS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS • • • • 


61 


SYNTAX • . . • « • • 


64 


NOUN • • o • 


64 


NOMINATIVE CASH o « o • 


64 


POSSESSIVE CASE • a • • 


67 


OBJECTIVE CASH , 




68 


DATIVE CASE 




69 


ADJECTIVE 






71 


PRONOUN 






74 


VERB . 






76 


ADVERB , 






83 


PREPOSITION 






83 


CONJUNCTION . 






84 


ANALYSIS 






86 


SIMPLE SENTENCE « 




87 


FORMS OF SENTENCES • o « • 


87 


PARTS OF THE SENTENCE • . • • 


88 


NOMINATIVE OF ADDRESS • • • • 


97 


COMPLEX SENTENCE ..... 


. 103 


CAUTIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX SENTENCES 


. 107 


THE MAPPING OUT OF COMPLEX SENTENCES • 


. 109 


COMPOUND SENTENCE ..... 


. Ill 


CO-ORDINATE SENTENCES .... 


. 112 


PARENTHETICAL SENTENCES .... 


. 115 


WORD-BUILDING AND DERIVATION ... 


. 116 


COMPOUND NOt 


rNS 


• • » • 


. 116 



IV 



CONTENTS, 



WORD-BUILDING AND DEE 


ivation — (jonv 


muea. 


PAGE 


COMPOUND ADJECTIVES . • • • 


. 117 


COMPOUND VERBS 


• 


. 118 


COMPOUND ADVERBS 


• • • • 


. 118 


PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES • • • • 


. 119 


ENGLISH PREFIXES 


• • e • • 


. 120 


LATIN PREFIXES 


• • • • • 


. 123 


GREEK PREFIXES 


• • • • • 


. 126 


ENGLISH SUFFIXES 


• • • • • 


. 128 


LATIN AND FRENCH SUFFIXES . • • 


. 134 


GREEK SUFFIXES 


• • • • • 


. 141 


WORD-BRANCHING • 


• s • e • 


143 


ENGLISH ROOTS 


• • • • • 


. 144 


LATIN ROOTS . 


• • • • • 


. 147 


GREEK ROOTS . 


• • • • • 


. 152 


WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS • , 


154 


WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PLACES • 


, 158 


WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM . • • e 


161 


WORDS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN MEANING . « 


168 




PART II. 






COMPOSITION 






175 


PUNCTUATION 






, 187 


FIGURES OF SPEECH 






, 189 


PARAPHRASING 






, 192 


PROSODY 






, 194 


EXERCISES . 






207 


EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 






, 243 



PART I. 
THE GEAMMAE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 



INTRODUCTION. 

1. What a Language is. — A Language is a number of con- 
nected sounds which convey a meaning. These sounds, car- 
ried to other persons, enable them to know how the speaker 
is feeling, and what he is thinking. More than ninety per cent 
of all language used is spoken language ; that which is written 
forms an extremely small proportion. But, as people grow more 
and more intelligent, the need of written language becomes more 
and more felt ; and hence all civilised nations have, in course 
of time, slowly and with great difficulty made for themselves a 
set of signs, by the aid of which the sounds are, as it were, 
indicated upon paper. But it is the sounds that are the 
language, and not the signs. The signs are a more or less 
artificial, and more or less accurate, mode of representing the 
language to the eye. Hence the names language, tongue, 
and speech are of themselves sufficient to show that it is the 
spoken, and not the written, language that is the language, — 
that is the more important of the two, and that indeed gives 
life and vigour to the other. 

2. The Spoken and the Written Language. — Every civilised 
language had existed for unknown ages before it was written 
or printed. Before it was written, then, it existed merely as 
a spoken language. Our own tongue existed as a spoken 
language for many centuries before any of it was committed 
to writing. Many languages — such as those in the south of 
Africa — are born, live, and die out without having ever been 
written down at all. The parts of a spoken language are 
called sounds ; the smallest parts of a written language a*e 



4 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

called letters. The science of spoken sounds is called Pho- 
netics ; the science of written signs is called Alphabetics. 

3. The English Language. — The English language is the 
language of the English people. The English are a Teutonic 
people who came to this island from the north-west of Europe 
in the fifth century, and brought with them the English tongue 
— but only in its spoken form. The English spoken in 
the fifth century was a harsh guttural speech, consisting of a 
few thousand words, and spoken by a few thousand settlers 
in the east of England. It is now a speech spoken by more 
than a hundred millions of people — spread all over the world ; 
and it consists of more than a hundred thousand words. It 
was once poor ; it is now one of the richest languages in the 

world : it was once confined to a few corners of land in the 
east of England; it has now spread over Great Britain and 
Ireland, the whole of North America, the whole of Australia, 
and parts of South America and Africa. 

4. The Grammar of English. — Every language grows. It 
changes as a tree changes. Its fibre becomes harder as it grows 
older ; it loses old words and takes on new — as a tree loses old 
leaves, and clothes itself in new leaves at the coming of every 
new spring. But we are not at present going to trace the 
growth of the English Language ; we are going, just now, to 
look at it as it is. We shall, of course, be obliged to look back 
now and again, and to compare the past state of the language 
with its present state ; but this will be necessary only when we 
cannot otherwise understand the present forms of our tongue. 
A description or account of the nature, constitution, or structure 
of a language is called its Grammar. 

5. The Parts of Grammar. — Grammar considers and exam- 
ines language from its smallest parts up to its most complex 
organisation. The smallest part of a written language is a let- 
ter; the next smallest is a word; and with words we make 
sentences. There is, then, a Grammar of Letters ; a Grammar 
of Words ; and a Grammar of Sentences. The Grammar of Let- 
ters is called Orthography ; the Grammar of Words is called 
Etymology ; and the Grammar of Sentences is called Syntax. 



THE GRAMMAR OF LETTERS. 5 

There is also a Grammar of Verse ; and this grammar is called 
Prosody. 

(i) Orthography comes from two Greek words : orthos, right ; and 
grapke, a writing. The word therefore means correct writing. 

(ii) Etymology comes from two Greek words : etumos, true ; and logos, 
an account. It therefore means a true account of words. 

(hi) Syntax comes from two Greek words : sun, together, with ; and 
taxis, an order. When a Greek general drew up his men in order of 
battle, he was said to have them "in syntaxis." The word now means 
an account of the structure of sentences. 

(iv) Prosody comes from two Greek words : pros, to ; and ode, a song. 
It means the measurement of verse. 



THE GRAMMAR OF SOUNDS AND LETTERS, 
or ORTHOGRAPHY. 



6. The Grammar of Sounds. — There are two kinds of sounds 
in our language : (i) the open sounds ; and (ii) the stopped 
sounds. The open sounds are called vowels; the stopped 
sounds consonants. Vowels can be known by two tests — a 
negative and a positive. The negative test is that they do not 
need the aid of other letters to enable them to be sounded ; 
the positive test is that they are formed by the continuous 
passage of the breath. 

(i) Vowel comes from Old French vouel (Latin vScalis, sounding). 

(ii) Consonant comes from Lat. eon, with ; and sono, I sound. 

(hi) Two vowel-sounds uttered without a break between them are 
called a diphthong. Thus oi in boil ; ai in aisle are diphthongs. (The 
word comes from Greek dis, twice ; and phthonge, a sound. ) 

7. The Grammar of Consonants: (1) Mutes. — There are 
different ways of stopping, checking, or penning -in the con- 
tinuous flow of sound. The sound may be stopped (i) by the 
lips — as in ib and ip. Such consonants are called Labials. 
Or (ii) the sound may be stopped by the teeth — as in id 
and it. Such consonants are called Dentals. Or (iii) the 
sound may be stopped in the throat — as in ig and ik. 



6 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



These consonants are called Q-utturals. The above set of sounds 
are called Mutes, because the sound comes to a full stop. 

(i) Labial comes from Lat. labium, the lip. 

(ii) Dental comes from Lat. dens (dents) a tooth. Hence also dentist. 

(iii) Guttural comes from Lat. guttur, the throat. 

(iv) Palatal comes from Lat. palatum, the palate. 

8. The Grammar of Consonants : (2) Spirants. Some con- 
sonants have a little breath attached to them, do not stop the 
sound abruptly, but may be prolonged. These are called 
breathing letters or spirants. Thus, if we take an ib and 
breathe through it, we make it an iv — the b becomes a v. If 
we take an ip and breathe through it, it becomes an if — the p 
becomes an f. Hence v and f are called spirant labials. The 
following is a 



TABLE OF CONSONANT SOUNDS. 



MUTES. 


NASAL. 


SPIRANTS. 




Flat 
(or Soft). 


Sharp 
(or Hard). 




Flat 
(or Soft). 


Sharp 
(or Hard). 




Gutturals 


g 

(in gig) 


k 


ng 




h 




Palatals . 


J 


ch 

(church) 




y 

(yea) 






Palatal \ 
Sibilants J 








zh 

(azure) 


sh 

(sure) 


r 


Dental \ 
Sibilants J 








Z 

(prize) 


s 


1 


Dentals , 


d 


t 


n 


th 

(bathe) 


th 

(bath) 




Labials 


b 


P 


m 


V, W 


f, wh 





(i) The above table goes from the throat to the lips — from the back to 
the front of the mouth. 

(ii) Another term for flat is voiced or sonant, and for sharp, voiceless 
or surd. 



THE GRAMMAR OF LETTERS. 7 

9. The Grammar of Letters. — Letters are conventional 
signs or symbols employed to represent sounds to the eye. 
They have grown out of pictures, which, being gradually pared 
down, became mere signs or letters. The steps were these : 
picture ; abridged picture ; diagram ; sign or symbol. The 
sum of all the letters used to write or print a language is called 
its Alphabet. Down to the fifteenth century, we employed a set 
of Old English letters, such as a b C — X g 2> which were the 
Eoman letters ornamented ; but, from that or about that time, 
we have used and still use only the plain Eoman letters, as 
a b c — x y z. 

The word alphabet comes from the name of the first two letters in 
the Greek language : alpha, beta. 

10. An Alphabet. — An alphabet is, as we have seen, a code 
of signs or signals. Every code of signs has two laws, neither 
of which can be broken without destroying the accuracy and 
trustworthiness of the code. These two laws are : 

(i) One and the same sound must be represented by one and 
the same letter. 

Hence: No sound should be represented by more than one letter. 

(ii) One letter or set of letters must represent only one and 
the same sound. 

Hence : No letter should represent more than one sound. 

Or, put in another way : 

(i) One sound must be represented by one distinct symbol, 
(ii) One symbol must be translated to the ear by no more 
than one sound. 

(i) The first law is broken when we represent the long sound of a in 
eight different ways, as in — fate, braid, say, great, neigh, prey, gaol, 
gauge. 

(ii) The second law is broken when we give eight different sounds to 
the one symbol ough, as in — bough, cough, dough, hiccough ( = cup), 
hough (=hock), tough, through, thorough. 

11. Our Alphabet. — The spoken alphabet of English contains 
forty-three sounds ; the written alphabet has only twenty-six 
symbols or letters to represent them. Hence the English al- 



8 GRAMMAK OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

phabet is very deficient. But it is also redundant. For it 
contains five superfluous letters, c, q, x, iv, and y. The work 
of the letter c might be done by either A: or by s ; that of q 
by k ; x is equal to ks or gs ; w could be represented by oo ; 
and all that y does could be done by i. It is in the vowel- 
sounds that the irregularities of our alphabet are most discern- 
ible. Thirteen vowel-sounds are represented to the eye in more 
than one hundred different ways. 

(i) There are twelve ways of printing a short i, as in sit, Cyril, busy, 
women, etc. 

(ii) There are twelve ways of printing a short e, as in set, any, bwry, 
bread, etc. 

(iii) There are ten ways of printing a long e, as in mete, marine, meet, 
meat, key, etc. 

(iv) There are thirteen ways of printing a short u, as in bwd, love, 
berth, rough, flood, etc. 

(v) There are eleven ways of printing a long u, as in rwde, move, blew, 
true, etc 



THE GEAMMAE OE WOEDS, or ETYMOLOGY. 

There are eight kinds of words in our language : (i) Names 
or Nouns, (ii) The words that stand for Nouns, called Pro- 
nouns, (iii) The words-that-go-with-Nouns or Adjectives, 
(iv) The words -that -say -something -of- .Nouns or Verbs, 
(v) The words that go with Verbs or Adjectives or Adverbs, 
called Adverbs, (vi) The words that-show-relation, called 
Prepositions. (vii) Those that-join-Words-and-Sentences, 
called Conjunctions, (viii) Interjections, which are indeed 
mere sounds without any organic or vital connection with 
other words; and they are hence sometimes called extra- 
grammatical utterances. Nouns and Adjectives, Verbs and 
Adverbs, have distinct, individual, and substantive mean- 
ings. Pronouns have no meanings in themselves, but merely 
refer to nouns, just like a [|§F in a book. Prepositions and 
Conjunctions once had independent meanings, but have not 



THE CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS 9 

much now : their chief use is to join words to each other. 
They act the part of nails or of glue in language. Interjections 
have a kind of meaning ; but they never represent a thought — 
only a feeling, a feeling of pain or of pleasure, of sorrow or of 
surprise. 

NOUNS. 

1. A Noun is a name, or any word or words used as a 
name. 

Ball, house, fish, John, Mary, are all names, and are therefore nouns. 
" To walk in the open air is pleasant in summer evenings." The two 
words to walk are used as the name of an action ; to walk is therefore 
a noun. 

The word noun comes from the Latin nomen, a name. From this word we har» 
also nominal, denominate, denomination, etc. 

THE CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS. 

2. Nouns are of two classes — Proper and Common. 

3. A proper noun is the name of an individual, aa an in- 
dividual, and not as one of a class. 

John, Mary, London, Birmingham, Shakespeare, Milton, are all proper 
nouns. 

The word proper comes from the Latin proprius, one's own. Hence a 
proper noun is, in relation to one person, one's own name. From the same word 
we have appropriate, to make one's own ; expropriate, etc. 

(i) Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter at the 
beginning ; and so also are the words derived from them. Thus we 
write France, French, Frenchified ; Milton, Miltonic ; Shakespeare, Shake- 
spearian. 

(ii) Proper nouns, as such, have no meaning. They are merely marks 
to indicate a special person or place. They had, however, originally a 
meaning. The persons now called Armstrong, Smith, Greathead, no 
doubt had ancestors who were strong in the arm, who did the work of 
smiths, or who had large heads. 

(hi) A proper noun may be used as a common noun, when it is em- 
ployed not- to mark an individual, but to indicate one of a class. Thus 
we can say, "He is the Milton of his age," meaning by this that he 
possesses the qualities which all those poets have who are like Milton. 

(iv) We can also speak of " the Howards," " the Smiths," meaning a 
number of persons who are called Howard or who are called Smith. 



10 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

4. A common noun is the name of a person, place, or thing, 
considered not merely as an individual, but as one of a class. 
Horse, town, hoy, table, are common nouns. 

The word common comes from the Lat. communis, "shared by several"; and 
we find it also in community, commonalty, etc. 

(i) A common noun is so called because it belongs in common to all 
the persons, places, or things in the same class. 

(ii) The name rabbit marks off, or distinguishes, that animal from 
all other animals ; but it does not distinguish one rabbit from another — 
it is common to all animals of the class. Hence we may say : a com- 
mon noun distinguishes from without ; but it does not distinguish within 
its own bounds. 

(iii) Common nouns have a meaning; proper nouns have not. The 
latter may have a meaning ; but the meaning is generally not appro- 
priate. Thus persons called Whitehead and Longshanks may be dark 
and short. Hence such names are merely signs, and not significant marks. 

5. Common nouns are generally subdivided into — 

(i) Class-names. 

(ii) Collective nouns. 

(iii) Abstract nouns. 

(i) Under class-names are included not only ordinary names, but 
also the names of materials — as tea, sugar, wheat, water. The names 
of materials can be used in the plural when different kinds of tne 
material are meant. Thus we say "fine teas," "coarse sugars," when 
we mean fine kinds of tea, etc. 

(ii) A collective noun is the name of a collection of persons or 
things, looked upon by the mind as one. Thus we say committee, 
parliament, crowd; and think of these collections of persons as each 
one body. 

(iii) An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action, or state, 
considered in itself, and as abstracted from the thing or person in 
which it really exists. Thus, we see a number of lazy persons, and 
think of laziness as a quality in itself, abstracted from the persons. 
(From Lat. abs, from ; tractus, drawn.) 

(a) The names of arts and sciences are abstract nouns, because they are the 
names of processes of thought, considered apart and abstracted from the 
persons who practise them. Thus, music, painting, grammar, chemistry, 
astronomy, are abstract nouns. 

(iv) Abstract nouns are (a) derived from adjectives, as hardness, 
dulness, doth, from hard, dull, and slow; or (b) from verbs, as growth, 
thought, from grow and think. 



THE INFLEXIONS OF NOUNS. 11 

(v) Abstract nouns are sometimes used as collective nouns. Thus we 
say "the nobility and gentry " for "the nobles and gentlemen" of the 
land. 

(vi) Abstract nouns are formed from other words by the addition of 
such endings as ness, th, ery, hood, head, etc. 

6. The following is a summary of the divisions of nouns : — 

NOUNS. 

I 



I I 

Proper. Common. 



Class-Names. Collective Nouns. Abstract Nouns. 



THE INFLEXIONS OF NOUNS. 

7. Nouns can be inflected or changed. They are inflected to 
indicate Gender, Number, and Case. 

"We must not, however, forget that differences of gender, 
number, or case are not always indicated by inflexion. 

Inflexio is a Latin word which means bending. An inflexion, therefore, is a 
bending away from the simple form of the word. 

Gender. 

8. Gender is, in grammar, the mode of distinguishing sex by 

the aid of words, prefixes, or suffixes. 

The word gender comes from the Lat. genus, generis (Fr. genre), a 
kind or sort. We have the same word in generic, general, etc. (The 
d in gender is no organic or true part of the word ; it has been in- 
serted as a kind of cushion between the n and the r.) 

(i) Names of males are said to be of the masculine gender, as master, 
lord, Harry. Lat. mas, a male. 

(ii) Names of females are of the feminine gender, as mistress, lady, 
Harriet. Lat. femina, a woman. (From the same word we have 
effeminate, etc.) 

(iii) Names of things without sex are of the neuter gender, as head, 
tree, London. Lat. neuter, neither. (From the same word we have 
neutral, neutrality.) 

(iv) Names of animals, the sex of which is not indicated, are said to 
be of the common gender. Thus, sheep, bird, hawk, parent, servant, are 
common, because they may be of either gender. 



12 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(v) "We may sum up thus : — 

Gender. 

! 

i i i i 

Masculine. Feminine. Neuter. Common. 

{Neither) {Either) 

(vi) If we personify things, passions, powers, or natural forces, we may 
make them either masculine or feminine. Thus the Sun, Time, the 
Ocean, Anger, War, a river, are generally made masculine. On the other 
hand, the Moon, the Earth (" Mother Earth "), Virtue, a ship, Religion, 
Pity, Peace, are generally spoken of as feminine. 

(yii) Sex is a distinction between animals ; gender a distinction be- 
tween nouns. In Old English, mouth was masculine, tongue, feminine, 
and eye, neuter. But we have lost all these distinctions, and, in 
modern English, gender always follows sex. 

9. There are three ways of marking gender : — 

(i) By the use of Suffixes, 
(ii) By Prefixes (or by Composition). 

(iii) By using distinct words for the names of the male and 
female. 



L Gender marked by Suffixes. 

A. Purely English or Teutonic Suffixes. 

10. There are now in our language only two purely English 
suffixes used to mark the feminine gender, and these are used 
in only two words. The two endings are en and ster, and the 
two words are vixen and spinster. 

(i) Vixen is the feminine of fox ; and spinster of spinner {spinder or 
spinther, which, later on, became spider). King Alfred, in his writings, 
speaks of " the spear-side and the spindle-side of a house " — meaning the 
men and the women. 

(ii) Ster was used as a feminine suffix very largely in Old English. 
Thus, webster was a woman-weaver ; baxter (or bagster), a female baker ; 
hoppester, a woman-dancer ; redester, a woman-reader; huckster, a female 
hawker (travelling merchant) ; and so on. 

(iii) In Ancient English (Anglo-Saxon) the masculine ending was a, 
and the feminine e, as in tvicca, wicce, witch. Hence we find the names 
of many Saxon kings ending in a, as Ida, Offa, Penda, etc. 



GENDER INDICATED BY SUFFIXES AND PREFIXES. 



13 



B. Latin and French Suffixes. 

11. The chief feminine ending which we have received from 
the French is ess (Latin, issa). This is also the only feminine 
suffix with a living force at the present day — the only suffix we 
could add to any new word that might be adopted by us from 
a foreign source. 

12. The following are nouns whose feminines end in ess : — 



Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Actor 


Actress. 


Host 


Hostess. 


Baron 


Baroness. 


Lad 


Lass. 


Caterer 


Cateress. 


Marquis 


Marchioness. 


Count 


Countess. 


Master 


Mistress. 


Duke 


Duchess. 


Mayor 


Mayoress. 


Emperor 


Empress. 


Murderer 


Murderess. 



It will be noticed that, besides adding ess, some of the 
letters undergo change or are thrown out altogether. 

There are other feminine suffixes of a foreign origin, such as 
ine, a, and trix. 

(i) ine is a Greek ending, and is found in heroine. A similar ending in 
landgravine and margravine, the feminines of landgrave (a German 
count) and margrave (a lord of the Mark or of marches), is German. 

(ii) a is an Italian or Spanish ending, and is found in donna (the 
feminine of Don, a gentleman), infanta ( = the child, the heiress to the 
crown of Spain), Sultana, and signora (the feminine of Signor, the 
Italian for Senior, elder). 

(hi) trix is a purely Latin ending, and is found only in those words 
that have come to us directly from Latin ; as testator, testatrix (a person 
who has made a will), executor, executrix (a person who carries out the 
directions of a will). 



II. Gender indicated by Prefixes (or by Composition). 

13. The distinction between the masculine and the feminine 
gender is indicated by using such words as man, maid — bull, 
cow — he, she — cock, hen, as prefixes to the nouns men- 
tioned. In the oldest English, carl and cwen ( = queen) were 
employed to mark gender ; and carl-fugol is = cock-fowl, cwen- 
f ugol = hen-f owL 



14 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



14. The following are the most important words of this 
kind : — 



Masculine. 
Man-servant 
Man 
He -goat 
He-ass 
Jack-ass 
Jackdaw 



Feminine. 
Maid-servant. 
Woman ( = wife-man) 
She -goat. 
She-ass. 
Jenny-ass. 



Masculine. 
Bull-calf 
Cock-sparrow 
Wether-lamb 
Pea -cock 



Feminine. 
Cow-calf. 
Hen-sparrrow. 
Ewe-lamb. 
Pea-hen. 



Turkey-cock Turkey-hen. 



(i) In the time of Shakespeare, he and she were used as nouns. We 
find such phrases as "The proudest he," a The fairest she," "That not 
impossible she." 



III. Gender indicated by Different Words. 



15. The rise 

inine does not 
well, however, 

Masculine. 

Bachelor 

Boy 

Brother 

Foal 

Drake 

Drone 

Earl 

Father 

Gander 

Hart ' 

Horse 



of different words for the masculine and the fem- 
really belong to grammatical gender. It may be 
to note some of the most important : — ■ 



Feminine. 

Spinster. 

Girl. 

Sister. 

Filly. 

Duck. 

Bee. 

Countess. 

Mother. 

Goose. 

Hind. 

Mare. 



Masculine. 

Husband 

King 

Lord 

Monk 

Nephew 



Feminine. 

Wife. 

Queen. 

Lady. 

Nun. 

Niece. 



Ram (or Wether) Ewe. 
Sir Madam. 

Sloven Slut. 

Son Daughter 

Uncle Aunt. 

Wizard Witch. 



(i) Bachelor, from Low Latin baccalarius, a holder or tenant of a 
small farm. 

(ii) Girl, Low German gor, a child. 

(iii) Filly, the dim. of foal. (When a syllable is added, the previous 
vowel is often modified : as in cat, kitten ; cock, chicken ; cook, kitchen.) 

(iv) Drake, formerly endrake ; end — duck, and rake = kmg. The 
word therefore means king of the ducks. (The word rake appears in 
another form in the ric of bishopric = the ric or kingdom or domain 
of a bishop.) 

(v) Earl, from A.S. eorl, a warrior. Countess comes from the French 
word comtesse. 



GENDER. 1 5 

(vi) Father = feeder ; cognate of fat, food, feed, fodder, foster, etc. 

(vii) Goose; in the oldest A.S. gons ; Gandr-a (the a being the sign 
of the masc). Hence gander, the d being inserted as a cushion be- 
tween n and r, as in thunder, gender, etc. 

(viii) Hart = the horned one. 

(ix) Mare, the fern, of A.S. rnearh, a horse. Hence also marshal, 
which at first meant horse-servant. 

(x) Husband, from Icelandic, husbuandi, the master of the house. A 
farmer in Norway is called a bonder. 

(xi) King, a contraction of A.S. cyning, son of the kin or tribe. 

(xii) Lord, a contraction of A.S. hlaford — from hlaf, a loaf, and 
weard, a ward or keeper. 

(xiii) Lady, a contraction of A.S. hlaefdige, a loaf-kneader. 

(xiv) The old A.S. words were nefa, nefe. 

(xv) Woman = wife -man. The pronunciation of women (wimmen) 
comes nearer to the old form of the word. See note on (hi.) 

(xvi) Sir, from French sire (Lat. senior, elder). 

(xvii) Madam, from Lat. Mea domina (through the French Ma dame) 
= my lady. 

(xviii) Daughter, probably means milker. Connected with dug. 

(xix) Wizard, from old French guiscart, prudent. Witch has no con- 
nection with wizard. 

16. All feminine nouns are formed from the masculine, with 
four exceptions : bridegroom, widower, gander, and drake, 
which come respectively from bride, widow, goose, and duck. 

(i) Bridegroom was in A.S. brydguma= the bride's man. (Guma is a 
cognate of the Lat. hom-o, a man — whence humanity.) 

(ii) Widower. The old masc. was widuwa ; the fern, widuwe. It was 
then forgotten that widuwa was a masculine, and a new masculine had 
to be formed from widuwe. 



Number. 

17. Number is, in nouns, the mode of indicating whether we 
are speaking of one thing or of more. 

18. The English language, like most modern languages, has 
two numbers ; the singular and the plural. 



16 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(i) Singular comes from the Lat. singuli, one by one ; plural, from 
the Lat. plures, more (than one). 

(ii) Mr Barnes, the eminent Dorsetshire poet, who has written an 
excellent grammar, called ' Speech-craft,' calls them onely and somely. 

19. There are three chief ways of forming the plural in 
English : — ■ 

(i) By adding es or s to the singular. 
(ii) By adding en. 
(iii) By changing the vowel-sound. 

20. First Mode. — The plural is formed by adding es or s 
!The ending es is a modern form of the old A.S. plural in as, ai^ 
stances, stones. The following are examples : — 



Singular. 


Plural. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


Box 


Boxes. 


Beef 


Beeves. 


Gas 


Gases. 


Loaf 


Loaves. 


Witch 


Witches. 


Shelf 


Shelves. 


Hero 


Heroes. 


Staff 


Staves. 


Lady 


Ladies. 


Thief 


Thieves. 



(i) It will be seen that es in heroes does not add a syllable to the sing. 

(ii) Nouns ending in f change the sharp f into a flat V, as in beeves, 
etc. But we say roofs, cliffs, dwarfs, chiefs, etc. 

(iii) An old singular of lady was ladie ; and this spelling is preserved 
in the plural. But there has arisen a rule on this point in modern 
English, which may be thus stated : — 

£2T (a) Y, with a vowel before it, is not changed in the plural. 
Thus we write keys, valleys, chimneys, days, etc. 

(b) Y, with a consonant before it, is changed into ie when s if 
added for the plural. Thus we write ladies, rubies, and also solilo- 
quies. 

(iv) Beef is not now used as the word for a single ox. Shakespeare 
has the jmrase " beef-witted " = with no more sense than an ox. 

21. Second Mode. — The plural is formed by adding en or 
ne. Thus we have oxen, children, brethren, and kine. 

(i) Children is a double plural. The oldest plural was cild-r-u, which 
became childer. It was forgotten that this was a proper plural, and en 
was added. Brethren is also a double plural. En was added to the old 
Northern plural brether — the oldest plural being brothr-u. 

(ii) Kine is also a double plural of cow. The oldest plural was cy, 
and this still exists in Scotland in the form of kye. Then ne was 
added. 



NUMBER. 



17 



22. Third Mode. — The plural is formed by changing the 
vowel-sound of the word. The following are examples : — 



SlNGULAK. 


Plural. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


Man 


Men. 


Tooth 


Teeth. 


Foot 


Feet. 


Mouse 


Mice. 


Goose 


Geese. 


Louse 


Lice. 



(i) To understand this, we must observe that when a new syllable is 
added to a word, the vowel of the preceding syllable is often weakened. 
Thus we find nation, national ; fox, vixen. Now the oldest plurals of 
the above words had an additional syllable ; and it is to this that the 
change in the vowel is due. 



in English several nouns 



23. There are 
forms, with different meanings 

Singular 

Brother 

Cloth 

Die 

Fish 

Genius 

Index 



with two plural 

The following is a list :- — 

Plural. 
brethren (of a community), 
clothes (garments). 
dice (cubes for gaming), 
fish (taken collectively), 
genii (powerful spirits), 
indices (to quantities in algebra), 
pease (taken collectively), 
pence (taken collectively), 
shot (balls, collectively) 

(i) Pea is a false singular. The s belongs to the root ; and we find in 
Middle English " as big as a pease," and the plurals pesen and peses. 



Plural. 
brothers (by blood) 
cloths (kinds of cloth) 
dies (stamps for coining) 
fishes (looked at separately) 
geniuses (men of talent) 
indexes (to books) 



Penny- 
Shot 



peas (taken separately) 
pennies (taken separately) 
shots (separate discharges) 



24. Some nouns have the same form in the plural as in the 
singular. Such are deer, sheep, cod, trout, mackerel, and 
others. 

(i) Most of these nouns were, in Old English, neuter. 

(ii) A special plural is found in such phrases as : A troop of horse ; 
a company of foot ; ten sail of the line ; three brace of birds ; six gross of 
steel pens; ten stone weight, etc. In fact, the names of numbers, 
weights, measures, etc., are not put into the plural form. Thus we say, 
ten hundredweight, Jive score, five fathom, six brace. In Old English we 
also said forty year, sixty winter ; and we still say, a twelvemonth, a fort- 
night ( = fourteen nights). 

25. There are in English several false plurals — that is, real 



singulars which look like plurals, 
eaves. 

B 



These are alms, riches, and 



18 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(i) Alms is a compressed form of the A.S. aelmesse (which is from the 
Greek cleemosune). We find in Acts iii. 3, "an alms." The adjective 
connected with it is eleemosynary. 

(ii) Riches comes from the French richesse. 

(iii) Eaves is the modern form of the A.S. efese, a margin or edge. 

26. There are in English several plural forms that are w 
garded and treated as singulars. The following is a list : — 

Amends. Odds. Smallpox. 

Gallows. Pains. Thanks. 

News. Shambles. Tidings. 

(i) Smallpox = small pocks. 

27. There are many nouns that, from the nature of the case, 
can be used only in the plural. These are the names of 
things (a) That consist of two or more parts ; or (b) That are 
taken in the mass. 

(a) The following is a list of the first : — 

Bellows. Pincers. Shears. Tweezers. 

Drawers. Pliers. Snuffers. Tongs. 

Lungs. Scissors. Spectacles. Trousers. 

(b) The following is a list of the second : — 

Annals. Dregs. Lees. Oats. 

Archives. Embers. Measles. Staggers. 

Ashes. Entrails. Molasses. Stocks. 

Assets. Hustings. Mumps. Victuals. 

fi®" It must be noticed that several nouns — some of them in the 
above class — change their meaning entirely when made plural. Thus — 



Singular. Plural. 

Beef Beeves. 

Copper Coppers. 

Good Goods. 



Singular. Plural. 

Iron Irons. 

Pain Pains. 

Spectacle Spectacles. 



28. The English language has adopted many foreign plurals. 
These, (a) when fully naturalised, make their plurals in the 
usual English way ; (b) when not naturalised, or imperfectly, 
keep their own proper plurals. 

(a) As examples of the first kind, we have — 

Bandits, cherubs, dogmas, indexes, memorandums, focuses, formulas, 
terminuses, etc. 



CASE. 



19 



(b) As 


examples of the second, 


we find — 




(1) Latin 


Singular. 
Animalculum 
Datum 
Formula 
Genus 


Plural 
Animalcula. 
Data. 
Formula}. 
Genera. 


Singular. 
Radix 
Series 
Species 
Stratum 


Plural, 
Radices. 
Series. 
Species. 
Strata. 


(2) Greek 


Analysis 

Axis 

Miasma 


Analyses. 

Axes. 

Miasmata. 


Ellipsis 

Parenthesis 

Phenomenon 


Ellipses. 

Parentheses. 

Phenomena. 


(3) French 


Monsieur 


Messieurs. 


Madam 


Mesdames. 


(4) Italian 


Bandit 
Dilettante 


Banditti. 
Dilettanti. 


Libretto 
Virtuoso 


Libretti. 
Virtuosi , 


(5) Hebrew 


Cherub 


Cherubim. 


Seraph 


Seraphim. 



(i) The Greek plurals aaoustics, ethics, mathematics, optics, politics, etc., 
were originally adjectives. We now say logic — but logics, which still 
survives in the Irish Universities — was the older word. 

29. Compounds attach the sign of the plural to the leading 
word, especially if that word be a noun. These may be divided 
into three classes : — 

(a) When the plural sign is added to the Noun, as : sons-in-law, 
hangers-on, looJcers-on, etc. 

(b) When the compound word is treated as one word, as : attorney - 
generals, major-generals, court-martials, spoonfuls, handfuls, etc. 

(c) When both parts of the compound take the plural sign, as : men- 
servants, knights-templars, lords-justices, etc. 

Case. 

30. Case is the form given to a noun to show its relation to 
other words in the sentence. Our language has lost most of 
these forms ; but we still use the word case to indicate the 
function, even when the form has been lost. 



(i) The word case is from the Latin 
casus, and means a falling. The old gram- 
marians regarded the nominative as the 
upright case, and all others as fallings 
from that. Hence the use of the words 
decline and declension. (Of course the 
nominative cannot be a real case, because 
it is upright and not a, falling.) 




20 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

31. We now employ five cases; Nominative, Possessive* 
Dative, Objective, and Vocative. 

(i) In Nouns, only one of these is inflected, or has a case-ending — the 
Possessive. 

(ii) In Pronouns, the Possessive, Dative, and Objective are inflected. 
But the inflexion for the Dative and the Objective is the same. Him 
and them are indeed true Datives : the old inflection for the Objective 
■was nine and ni. 

32. The following are the definitions of these cases : — 

(1) The Nominative Case is the case of the subject. 
(*2) The Possessive Case indicates possession, or some sim-. 
ilar relation. 

(3) The Dative Case is the case of the Indirect Object, 
and also the case following certain verbs. 

(4) The Objective Case is the case of the Direct Object. 

(5) The Vocative Case is the case of the person spoken 
to. It is often called the Nominative of Address. 

(i) Nominative comes from the Lat. nominare, to name. From the 
root we have nominee. 



(ii) Dative comes from the Lat dativus, given to. 

(iii) Vocative comes from the Lat. vocativus, spoken to or addressed. 

33. The Nominative Case answers to the question "Who ? or 
"What ? It has always a verb that goes with it, and asserts 
something about it. 

34. The Possessive Case has the ending 's in the singular ; 
°s in the plural, when the plural of the noun ends in n ; and * 
only when the plural ends in s. 

||§F The possessive case is kept chiefly for nouns that are 
the names of living beings. We cannot say "the book's 
page " or " the box's lid," though in poetry we can say " the 
temple's roof," etc. There are many points that require to be 
specially noted about the possessive : — 

(i) The apostrophe (from Gr. apo, away, and strophe, a turning) stands 
In the place of a lost e, the possessive in O.E. having been in many 
cases es. In the last century the printers always put hoj>'d, walled, 
etc., for hoped, walked, etc. The use of the apostrophe is quite modern. 



CASE. 21 

(ii) If the singular noun ends in s, we often, but not always, write 
Moses' rod, for conscience' sake, Phoebus' fire ; and yet we say, and ought 
to say, Jones's books, WilJcins's hat, St James's, Chambers's Journal, etc. 

(iii) We find in the Prayer-Book, " For Jesus Christ his sake." This 
arose from the fact that the old possessive in es was sometimes written 
is ; and hence the corruption into his. Then it came to be fancied that 
's was a short form of his. But, this is absurd, for two reasons : — 

(a) We cannot say that " the girl's book " is = the girl his boolc. 
(6) We cannot say that " the men's tools " is = the men his tools. 

35. How shall we account for the contradictory forms Lord's- 
day and Lady-day, Thurs-day and Fri-day, Wedn-es-day and 
Mon-day, and for the curious possessive in Witenagemot ? 

(i) Lady-day and Friday are fragments of the possessive of feminine 
Nouns in O.E. An old feminine possessive ended in an, which was then 
shortened into ladye, lastly into lady. So with Frija, the goddess of 
love ; and with Moon, which was masculine. Thus we see that in 
Lady-day, Friday, and Monday we have old possessives. The word 
witenagemot means the meet or meeting of the witan, or wise men, 
the possessive of which was witena. 

36. The Dative Case answers to the question For whom ? 
or To whom ? It has no separate form for Kouns ; and in 
Pronouns, its form is the same as that of the Objective. But 
it has a very clear and distinct function in modern English 
This function is seen in such sentences as — 

(1) He handed the lady a chair. 

(2) Make me a boat ! 

(3) Woe worth the day ! ( = Woe be to the day !) 

(4) Heaven send the Prince a better companion ! 

(5) Heaven send the companion a better Prince ! 

(6) " Sirrah, knock me at this gate, 
Rap me here, knock me well, and knock me soundly." 

(Shakespeare, " Taming of the Shrew," I. ii. 31.) 

(7) Methought I heard a cry ! 

(8) Hand me the salt, if you please. 

Some grammarians prefer to call this the Case of the Indirect 
Object ; but the term will hardly apply to day and me in (3) 
and (7). In all the other sentences, the dative may be changed 
into an objective with the prep, to oi for. 



22 GKAMMATt OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(i) In the sixth sentence, the me's are sometimes called Ethical 
Datives. 

(ii) In the seventh sentence, rnethought is = it seemed to me. There 
were in O.E. two verbs — thyncan, to seem ; and thencan, to think. 

(iii) In the eighth sentence the phrase if you please is = if it please 
you, and the you is originally a dative. * 

37. The Objective Case is always governed by an active- 
transitive verb or a preposition. It answers to the question 
Whom ? or What ? It is generally placed after the verb. Its 
form is different from that of the Nominative in pronouns ; 
but is the same in nouns. 

(i) The direct object is sometimes called the reflexive object when 

the nominative and the objective refer to the same person — as, " / hurt 
myself ;" " Turn (thou) thee, Lord ! " etc. 

(ii) When the direct object is akin with the verb in meaning, it is 
sometimes called the cognate object. The cognate object is found in 
such phrases as : To die the death ; to run a race ; to fight a fight, etc. 

(iii) A second direct object after such verbs as make, create, appoint, 
think, suffer, etc., is often called the factitive object. For example : 
The Queen made him a general; the Board appointed him manager ; we 
thought him a good man, etc. 

Factitive comes from the Latin face're, to make. 

38. The difference between the Nominative and the Vocative 
cases is this : The Nominative case must always have a verb 
with it ; the Vocative cannot have a verb. This is plain fron> 
the sentences : — 

(i) John did that, 
(ii) Don't do that, John ! 

39. Two nouns that indicate the same person or thing are 
said to be in apposition ; and two nouns in apposition may lw 
in any case. 

(i) But, though the two nouns are in the same case, only one of 
them has the sign or inflection of the case. Thus we say, " John the 
gardener's mother is dead." Now, both John and gardener are in the 
possessive case; and yet it is only gardener that takes the sign oi 
the possessive. 



PKONOUNS. 23 



PRONOUNS. 

1. A Pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun. 
We say, "John went away yesterday; he looked quite happy." 
In this case the pronoun he stands in the place of John. 

(i) The word pronoun comes from the Latin pro, for ; and nomcn, 
a name. 

(ii) The above definition hardly applies to the pronoun /. If we say 
I write, the / cannot have John Smith substituted for it. We cannot 
say John Smith write. I, in fact, is the universal pronoun for the 
person speaking ; and it cannot be said to stand in place of his mere 
name. The same remark applies to some extent to thou and you. 

2. The pronouns are among the oldest parts of speech, and 
have, therefore, been subject to many changes. In spite of 
these changes, they have kept many of their inflexions ; while 
our English adjective has parted with all, and our noun with 
most. 

3. There are four kinds of pronouns : Personal ; Inter- 
rogative ; Relative ; and Indefinite. The following is a 
table, with examples of each : — 

PRONOUNS. 1 

I 

i I I I 

Personal. Interrogative. Relative. Indefinite 

I. Who? Who. One. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

4. There are three Personal Pronouns : The Personal Pre 
noun of the First Person ; of the Second Person ; and of the 
Third Person. 

5. The First Personal Pronoun indicates the person speak- 
ing; the Second Personal Pronoun, the person spoken to; 
and the Third, the person spoken of. 

6. The First Personal Pronoun has, of course, no distinc- 
tion of gender. It is made up of the following forms, which 
are fragments of different words : — 

1 Demonstratives are treated under Adjectives. 



24 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 





Singular. 


Plural. 


Nominative 


I 


We. 


Possessive 


Mine (or My) 


Our (or Ours) 


Dative 


Me 


Us. 


Objective 


Me 


Us. 



(i) We is not = I + 1 ; because there can be only one / in all the world. 
We is really = I + he, I + you, or I + they. 

(ii) / can have no vocative as such. If you address yourself, you 
must say Thou or You. 

(hi) The dative is preserved in such words and phrases as " Me 
thinks" ("it seems tome," — where the think comes from thincan, to 
seem, and not from thencan, to think); "'Woe is me;" " Give me the 
plate ; " " If you please," etc. 

7. The Second Personal Pronoun has no distinction of 
gender. It has the following forms : — 





Singular. 


Plural. 


Nominative 


Thou 


You (or Ye). 


Possessive 


Thine (or Thy) 


Your (or Yours). 


Dative 


Thee 


You. 


Objective 


Thee 


You. 


Vocative 


Thou 


You (or Ye). 



(i) Ye was the old nominative plural ; you was always dative or 
objective. " Ye have not chosen me ; but I have chosen you." 

(ii) Thou was, from the 14th to the 17th century, the pronoun of 
affection, of familiarity, of superiority, and of contempt. This is still 
the usage in France of tu and toi. Hence the verb tutoyer. 

(iii) My, Thy, Our, Your are used along with nouns; Mine, Thine, 
Ours, and Yours cannot go with nouns, and they are always used alone. 
Mine and Thine, however, are used in Poetry and in the English Bible 
with nouns which begin with a vowel or silent h. 

8. The Third Personal Pronoun requires distinctions of 
gender, because it is necessary to indicate the sex of the person 
we are talking of ; and it has them. 







Singular. 




Plural. 




Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Neuter. 


All Genders. 


Nom. 


He 


She 


It 


They. 


Poss. 


His 


Her (or Hers) 


Its 


Their (or Theirs) 


Dat. 


Him 


Her 


It 


Them. 


Obj. 


Him 


Her 


It 


Them. 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 25 

(i) She is really the feminine of the old demonstrative se, seo, thaet ; 
and it has supplanted the old A.S. pronoun heo, which still exists in 
Lancashire in the form of hoo. 

(ii) The old and proper dative of it is Mm. The old neuter of he was 
hit, the t being the inflection for the neuter. 

(iii) Him, the dative, came to be also used as the objective. The 
oldest objective was hine. 

9. The Personal Pronouns are often used as Reflexive 
Pronouns. Reflexive Pronouns are (i) datives ; or (ii) objec- 
tives ; or (iii) compounds of self with the personal pronoun. 
For example : — 

(i) Dative : "I press me none but good householders," said by Fal- 
staff, in "King Henry IV.," I. iv. 2, 16. He sat him down. 

"I made me no more ado," I. ii. 4, 223. 

" Let every soldier hew him down a bough." — Macbeth, V. iv. 6. 

(ii) Objective: Shakespeare has such phrases as I tvhipt me; I disrobed 
me ; I have learned me. 

(iii) Compounds : I bethought myself; He wronged himself; etc. 



INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 

10. The Interrogative Pronouns are those pronouns which 
we use in asking questions. They are who, which, what, and 
whether. 

(i) The word interrogative comes from the Latin interrogdre, to ask. 
Hence also interrogation, interrogatory, etc. 

11. Who is both masculine and feminine, and is used only of 
persons. Its neuter is -what. (The t in what, as in that, is 
the old suffix for the neuter gender.) The possessive is whose ; 
the objective whom. The following are the forms : — ■ 

Singular and Plural. 





Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Neuter. 


Nominative 


Who 


Who 


What. 


Possessive 


Whose 


Whose 


[Whose.] 


Objective 


Whom 


Whom 


What. 



26 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(i) Who-m is really a dative, like hi-m. But we now use it only as an 
objective. 

(ii) Whose may be used of neuters ; but • it is almost invariably em- 
ployed of persons only. 

12. Which — formerly hwilc — is a compound word, made up 
of hwi, the instr. case of the Old English hwa, who, and 
lie = like. It therefore really means, Of what sort? It now 
asks for one out of a number ; as, " Here are several kinds of 
fruits : which will you have 1 " 

13. Whether is also a compound word, made up of who + 
ther ; and it means, Which of the two ? 

(i) The ther in whether is the same as the ther in neither, etc. 

RELATIVE OE CONJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS. 

14. A Relative Pronoun is a pronoun which possesses two 
functions : (i) it stands for a noun ; and (ii) it joins two sen- 
tences together. That is to say, it is both a pronoun and a con- 
junction. Tor example, we say, " This is the man whose apples 
we bought." This statement is made up of two sentences : (i) 
"This is the man;" and (ii) "We bought his apples." The 
relative pronoun whose joins together the two sentences. 

(i) Relative Pronouns might also be called conjunctive pronouns. 

(ii) Whose, in the above sentence, is called relative, because it relates 
to the word man. Man is called its antecedent, or goer-before. 
The word antecedent comes from the Lat. ante, before ; and cedo, I go. 

15. The Eelative Pronouns .are that ; who, which ; what. 
As and but are also employed as relatives. 

(i) Who, which, and what are also combined with so and ever, and 
form Compound Relatives ; such as whoso, whosoever, whatsoever, 
and whichsoever. 

(ii) That is the oldest of our relative pronouns. It is really the neuter 
of the old demonstrative adj., se, seo, thaet. It differs from who in two 
respects : (a) It cannot be used after a preposition. We cannot say, 
"This is the man with that I went." (b) It is generally employed to 
limit, distinguish, and define. Thus we say, " The house that I buHt is 
for sale." Here the sentence that I built is an adjective, limiting or de- 
fining the noun house. Hence it has been called the defining relative. 



INDEFINITE PKONOUNS. 27 

Who or which introduces a new fact about the antecedent ; that only 
marks it off from other nouns. 

(iii) Who has Whose and whom in the possessive and objective — both 
in the singular and in the plural. 

(iv) Which is not to be regarded as the neuter of who. It is the form 
used when the antecedent is the name of an animal or thing. After a 
preposition, it is sometimes replaced by where ; as wherein = in which ; 
whereto = to which. 

(v) What performs the function of a compound relative = that + which. 
If we examine its function in different sentences, we shall find that it 
may be equivalent to — 

(a) Two Nominatives ; as in 'This is what he is" ( = the person that). 

(6) Two Objectives ; as in " He has what he asked for " ( = the thing that). 

(c) Nom. and Obj. ; as in " This is what he asked for " ( = the thing that). 

{d) Obj. and Nom.; as in " I know what he is " ( = the person that). 

(vi) As is the proper relative after the adjectives such and same. 
"This is the same as I had" is = " This is the same as that which 
I had." 

(vii) But is the proper relative after a negative ; as " There was no 
man but would have died for her." Here hut = who + not. (This is 
like the Latin use of quin — qui + non). 

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. 

16. An Indefinite Pronoun is a pronoun that does not stand 
in the place of a noun which is the name for a definite person 
or thing, but is used vaguely, and without a distinct reference. 

17. The chief Indefinite Pronouns are one, none ; any ; 
other ; and some. 

(i) One is the best instance of an indefinite pronoun. It is simply the 
cardinal one used as a pronoun. In O.E. we used man; and we still find 
one example in the Bible — Zech. xiii. 5 : " Man taught me to keep cattle 
from my youth." One, as an indefinite pronoun, has two peculiarities. 
It {a) can be put in the possessive case ; and (b) can take a plural 
form. Thus we can say : (a) " One can do what one likes with one's own ; " 
and (6) " I want some big ones." 

(ii) None is the negative of one. " None think the great unhappy 
but the great." But none is generally plural. No (the adjective) is a 
short form of none ; as a is of an ; and my of mine. 

(iii) Any is derived from an, a form of one. It may be used as an 
adjective also — either with a singular or a plural noun. When used as a 
pronoun, it is generally plural. 



28 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(iv) Other is = an ther. The ther is the same as that in either, 
whether; and it always indicates that one of two is taken into the 
mind. 

(v) Some is either singular or plural. It is singular in the phrase 
Some one ; in all other instances, it is a plural pronoun. 



ADJECTIVES. 

1. An Adjective is a word that goes -with a noun to describe 
or point out the thing denoted by the noun — and hence to limit 
the application of the noun ; or, more simply, — 

Adjectives are noun-marking words. 

(i) Adjectives do not assert explicitly, like verbs. They assert im- 
plicitly. Hence they are implicit predicates. Thus, if I say, " I met 
three old men," I make three statements : (1) I met men ; (2) The men 
were old ; (3) The men were three in number. But these statements 
are not explicitly made. 

(ii) Adjectives enlarge the content, but limit the extent of the idea 
expressed by the noun. Thus when we say "white horses," we put a 
larger content into the idea of horse ; but, as there are fewer white 
horses than horses, we limit the extent of the notion. 

2. An adjective cannot stand by itself. It must have with 
jt a noun either expressed or understood. In the sentence 
"The good are happy," persons is understood after good. 

3. Adjectives are of four kinds. They are (i) Adjectives of 
Quality ; (ii) Adjectives of Quantity ; (iii) Adjectives of 
Number ; (iv) Demonstrative Adjectives. Or we may say, — 
Adjectives are divided into 

ADJECTIVES 

r ~t~ r i 

Qualitative. Quantitative. Numbering. Demonstrative. 

These four answer, respectively, to the questions — 
(i) Of what sort? (ii) How much? (iii) How many? (iv) Which? 

4. Qualitative Adjectives denote a quality of the subject or 
thing named by the noun; such as blue, white; hajipy, sad; 
hig, little. 

(i) The word qualitative comes from the Lat. qualis = of what sort, 
(ii) Most of these adjectives admit of degrees of comparison. 



ADJECTIVES. 29 

5. Quantitative Adjectives denote either quantity or in- 
definite number ; and they can go either (i) with the singular, 
or (ii) with the plural of nouns, or (iii) with both. The follow- 
ing is a list : — 

Any. Certain. Few. Much. Some. 

All. Divers. Little. No. Whole. 

Both. Enough. Many. Several. 

(i) "We find the phrases : Little need ; little wool ; much pleasure ; more 
sense ; some sleep, etc. 

(ii) We find the phrases: All men; any persons; both boys; several 
pounds, etc. 

(iii) We find the phrases : Any man and any men; no man and no 
men; enough corn and soldiers enough; some boy and some boys, etc. 

6. Numbering or Numeral Adjectives express the number of 

the things or persons indicated by the noun. They are generally 
divided into Cardinal Numerals and Ordinal Numerals. 
Eut Ordinal Numerals are in reality Demonstrative Adjectives. 

(i) Numeral comes from the Lat. numerus, a number. Hence also 
come numerous, numerical, and number (the b serves as a cushion between 
the m and the r). 

(ii) Cardinal comes from the Lat. cardo, a hinge. 

(iii) Ordinal comes from the Lat. ordo, order. 

7. Demonstrative Adjectives are those which are used to 
point out the thing expressed by the noun ; and, besides indi- 
cating a person or thing, they also indicate a relation either to 
the speaker or to something else. 

(i) Demonstrative comes from the Lat. demonstro, I point out. From the same 
root come monster, monstrous, &c. 

8. Demonstrative Adjectives are of three kinds : (i) Articles ; 
(ii) Adjective Pronouns (often so called) ; and (iii) the Ordinal 
Numerals. 

(i) There are two articles (better call them distinguishing adjectives) 
in our language : a and the. a is a broken-down form of ane, the 
northern form of one ; and before a vowel or silent h it retains the n. 
In some phrases a has its old sense of one; as in "two of a trade ; " "all 
of a size," etc. 

" An two men ride on a horse, one must ride behind. " 

Shakespeare (Much Ado about Nothing, HI. v. 40). 



30 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(ii) We must be careful to distinguish the article a from the broken- 
down preposition a in the phrase "twice a week." This latter a is a 
fragment of on; and the phrase in O.E. was "tuwa on wucan." Simi- 
larly, the in " the book " is not the same as the in " the more the merrier.'' 
The latter is an old case (instrumental) of ihaet ; and is = by that. 

(iii) Adjective Pronouns or Pronominal Adjectives are so called be- 
cause they can be used either as adjectives with the noun, or as 
pronouns for the noun. They are divided into the following four 



(a) Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns — This, these; that, those; 
yon, yonder. 

(6) Interrogative Adjective Pronouns — Which ? what ? whether (of 
the two) ? 

(c) Distributive Adjective Pronouns— Each, every, either, neither. 

(d) Possessive Adjective Pronouns — My, thy, his, her, etc. (These 
words perform a double function. They are adjectives, because they 
go with a noun ; and pronouns, because they stand for the noun or 
name of the person speaking or spoken of.) 

(iv) The Ordinal Numerals are : First, second, third, etc. 

9. Some adjectives are used as nouns, and therefore take a 
plural form. Thus we have Romans, Christians, superiors, 
elders, ones, others, nobles, etc. Some take the form of the 
possessive case, as either^s, neither' s. 

(i) The plural of one as an adjective is two, three, etc. ; of one as a 
noun, ones. Thus we can say, " These are poor strawberries, bring me 
better ones." Other numeral adjectives may be used as nouns. Thus 
Wordsworth, in one of his shorter poems, has — 

"The sun has long been set ; 

The stars are out by twos and thrwes ; 
The little birds are piping yet 
Among the bushes and trees." 

(ii) Our language is very whimsical in this matter. We can say 
Romans and Italians ; but we cannot say Frenches and Dutches. Milton 
has (Paradise Lost, iii. 438) Chineses. 



NUMERALS. 

10. Cardinal Numerals are those which indicate numbers 
alone. Some of them are originally nouns, as dozen, hun- 
dred, thousand, and million; but these may also be used as 
adjectives. 



NUMERALS. 31 

(i) One was in A.S. an or ane. The pronunciation wun is from a west- 
ern dialect. It is still rightly sounded in its compounds atone, alone, 
lonely. None and no are the negatives of one and o ( = an and a). 

(ii) Two, from A.S. twegen mas. ; twa fern. The form twegen appears 
in twain and twin, the g having been absorbed. 

(iiij Eieven = en (one) + lif (ten). Twelve = twe (two) + lif (ten). 

(iv) Thirteen = three + ten. The r has shifted its place, as in third. 

(v) Twenty = twen (two) + tig (ten). Tig is a noun, meaning " a set 
often." The guttural was lost, and it became ty. 

(vi) Score, from A.S. sceran, to cut. Accounts of sheep, cattle, etc., 
were kept by notches on a stick ; and the twentieth notch was made 
deeper, and was called the cut — the score. 

11. Ordinal Numerals are Adjectives of Relation formed 
mostly from the Cardinals. They are : First, Second, Third, 
Fourth, etc. 

(i) First is the superlative of fore, with vowel-change. 

(ii) Second is not Eng. but Latin. The O.E. for second was other. 
Second comes (through French) from the Latin, secundus, following — 
that is, following the first. A following or favourable breeze ("a wind 
that follows fast") was called by the Romans a "secundus ventus." 
Secundus comes from Lat. sequor, I follow. Other words from the 
same root are sequel, consequence, etc. 

(iii) Third, by transposition, from A.S. thridda. A third part was 
called a thriding (where the r keeps its right place) ; as a fourth part 
was a fourthing or farthing. Thriding was gradually changed into Riding, 
one of the three parts into which Yorkshire was divided. 

(iv) In eigh-th, as in eigh-teen } a t has vanished. 



THE INFLEXION OF ADJECTIVES. 

12. The modern English adjective has lost all its old inflexions 
for gender and case, and retains only two for number. These 
two are these (the plural of this) and those (the plural of that). 

(i) The older plural was thise — pronounced these, and then so spelled. 
In this instance, the spelling, as so seldom happens, has followed the 
pronunciation. In general in the English language, the spelling and the 
pronunciation keep quite apart, and have no influence on each other. 

(ii) Those was the oldest plural of this, but in the 14th century it 
came to be accented as the plural of that. 



32 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

13. Most adjectives are now inflected for purposes of com- 
parison only. 

14. There are three Degrees of Comparison : the Posi- 
tive ; the Comparative ; and the Superlative. 

(i) The word degree comes from the French dec/re, which itself comes 
from the Latin gradus, a step. From the same root come grade, grad- 
ual, degrade, etc. 

15. The Positive Degree is the simple form of the adjec- 
tive. 

16. The Comparative Degree is that form of the adjective 
•which shows that the quality it expresses has been raised one 
r:tep or degree higher. Thus we say sharp, sharper ; cold, 
colder; brave, braver. The comparative degree brings together 
only two ideas. Thus we may speak of " the taller of the two," 
but not " of the three." 

Comparative comes from the Lat. cornparo, I bring together. 

17. The Comparative degree is formed in two ways : either 
(i) by adding er to the positive ; or (ii) if the adjective has two 
syllables (the last ending in a consonant) or more, by placing 
the adverb more before the adjective. 

Eules : I. A silent e is dropped ; as brave, braver. 

II. A y after a consonant is changed into i before er, etc. ; as happy, 
happier. 

III. A final consonant after a short vowel is doubled ; as red, 
redder ; cruel, crueller. 

IV. In choosing between er and more, sound and custom seem bo 
be the safest guides. Thus we should not say selecter, but more select ; 
not infirmer, but more infirm. Carlyle has beauti fullest, etc. ; but his is 
not an example to be followed. 

18. The Superlative Degree is that form of the adjective 
which shows that the quality it expresses has been raised to the 
highest degree. The superlative degree requires that three 
things, or more, be compared. Thus " He is the tallest of the 
two " would be incorrect. 

Superlative comes from theT,at. supcrlafivus, lifting up above. 



ADJECTIVES. 



33 



19. The Superlative degree is formed in two ways : either (i) 
by adding est to the positive ; or (ii) if the adjective has two 
syllables (the last ending in a consonant) or more, by placing 
the adverb most before the adjective. 

(i) Happiest ; most recent ; most beautiful. 

20. Some adjectives, from the very nature of the ideas they 
express, do not admit of comparison. Such are golden, wooden; 
left, right ; square, triangular ; weekly, monthly ; eternal, per- 
petual, etc. 

21. The most frequently used adjectives have irregular 
comparisons. The following is a list : — ■ 



Pos- 


Com- 


Super- 


Pos- 


Com- 


Super- 


itive. 


parative. 


lative. 


itive. 


parative. 


lative. 


Bad 


worse 


worst. 


Late 


later 


latest. 


Evil 


worse 


worst. 


Late 


latter 


last. 


111 


worse 


worst. 


Little 


less 


least. 


Far 


farther 


farthest. 


Many 


more 


most. 


[Forth] 


further 


furthest. 


Much 


more 


most. 


Fore 


former 


foremost. 


Nigh 


nigher 


nighest (n«xt) 


Good 


better 


best. 


Old 


older 


oldest. 


Hind 


hinder 


hindmost. 


Old 


elder 


eldest. 



[Rathe] 



rath 



[rathest.] 



(i) Worse and worst come, not from lad, but from A. S. wyrsa. The 
s in xoorse is a part of the root ; and the full comparative is really worser, 
which was used in the 16th century (Shakespeare, " Hamlet," III. iv. 
157). Worst = worsest. 

(ii) The til in farther is intrusive. Farther is formed on a false anal- 
ogy with further ; as could (from can) is with would (from will). Far- 
ther is used of progression in space ; further, of progression in reasoning. 

(hi) Former was in A.S. forma ( = first). It is a superlative form with 
a comparative sense. 

(iv) Better comes from A.S. bet = good — a root which was found in 
betan, to make good, and in the phrase to boot = " to the good." 

(v) Later and latest refer to time ; latter and last to position in 
space or in a series. Last is as by assimilation from latst ; as best is from 

hast. 

(vi) Less does not come from the lit in little ; but from A.S. laes-sa, 
from the base las, weak. Least = laesest. 

(vii) Nighest is contracted into next ; as highest was into hext. Thus 
gh + s=k + s = x. 



34 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(viii) "We say " the oldest man that ever lived, " and " the eldest of 
the family." Older and oldest refer to mere number ; elder and eldest 
to a family or corporate group. 

(ix) Rathe is still found in poetry. Milton has " the rathe primrose, 
that forsaken dies ;" and Coleridge, " twin buds too rathe to bear the 
winter's unkind air." The Irish pronunciation rayther is the old Eng- 
lish pronunciation. 

(x) Hind is used as an adjective in the phrase "the hind wheels." 

22. The following are defective comparatives and superla- 
tives : — 

Positive. Comparative. Superlative. 

[Aft] after 

[In] inner innermost. 

[Out] outer (or utter) outermost (or uttermost). 

nether nethermost. 

over 

[Up] upper uppermost. 

(i) After, as an adjective, is found in aftermath and afterthought. 

(ii) In is used as an adjective in the word in- side; and as a noun in 
the phrase " the ins and outs " of a question. 

(hi) In the inns of law, the utter-bar ( outer- bar) is opposed to the 
inner-bar. 

(iv) The neth in nether is the same as the neath in beneath. 

(v) The OV in over is the ove in above, and is a dialectic form of up. 
It is still found in such names as Over Leigh in Cheshire, and Over 
Darwen in Lancashire. 

(vi) Hindmost, uttermost, are not compounds of most, but are 
double superlatives. There was an old superlative ending ema, which 
we see in Lat. extremus, supremus, etc. It was forgotten that this was 
a superlative, and est or ost was added. Thus we had hindema, mid- 
ema. These afterwards became hindmost and midmost. 



THE VERB. 

1. The Verb is that "part of speech" by means of which 
we make an assertion. 

It is the keystone of the arch of speech. 

(i) The word verb comes from the Lat. verbum, a word. It is so 
called because it is the word in a sentence. If we leave the verb out 
of a sentence, all the other words become mere nonsense. Thus we can 



THE VERB. 



35 



say, " I saw him cross the bridge." Leave out saw, and the other words 
have no meaning whatever. 

(ii) A verb has sometimes been called a telling word, and this is a 
good and simple definition for young learners. 

THE CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS. 

2. Verbs are divided into two classes — Transitive and 
Intransitive. 

3. A Transitive Verb denotes an action or feeling which, 
as it were, passes over from the doer of the action to the 
object of it. "The boy broke the stick;" "he felled the 
tree ; " "he hates walking." 

In these sentences we are able to think of the action of breaking and 
felling as passing over to the stick and the tree. 

Transitive comes from the Lat. verb translre, to pass over. 

The more correct definition is this : — ■ 

A Transitive Verb is a verb that requires an object. 

This definition covers the instances of have, own, possess,' inherit, etc., 
as well as break, strike, fell, etc. 

4. An Intransitive Verb denotes a state, feeling, or action 
which does not pass over, but which terminates in the doer or 

agent. " He sleeps ; " " she walks • " "the grass grows." 

5. There is, in general, nothing in the look or appearance 
of the verb which will enable us to tell whether it is transitive 
or intransitive. A transitive verb may be used intransitively ; 
an intransitive verb, transitively. In a few verbs we possess 
a causative form. Thus we have : — 



Intransitive. 


Causative. 


Intransitive. 


Causative. 


Bite 1 


Bait. 


Lie 


Lay. 


Drink 1 


Drench. 


Rise 


Raise. 


Fall 


Fell. 


Sit 


Set. 



1 These are also used transitively. 

The following exceptional usages should be diligently 
noted : — 

I. Intransitive verbs may be used transitively. Thus — 



(i) (a) He walked to London. 
(a) The eagle flew. 



(b) He walked his horse. 
(b) The boy flew his kite. 



36 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(ii) When the intransitive verb is compounded with a pre- 
position either (i) separable, or (ii) inseparable. 

(i) (a) He laughed. (b) He laughed-at me. 

(ii) (a) He came. (b) He overcame the enemy, 

(iii) (a) He spoke. (b) He bespoke a pair of boots. 

Such verbs are sometimes called " Prepositional Verbs." 

IT. Transitive verbs may be used intransitively- — 

(i) With the pronoun itself understood : — 

(a) He broke the dish. (b) The sea breaks on the rocks, 

(a) She shut the door. (b) The door shut suddenly. 

(a) They moved the table. (b) The table moved. 

(ii) When the verb describes a fact perceived by the senses : — 

(a) He cut the beef. (b) The beef cuts tough. 

(a) He sold the books. (b) The books sell well. 

{a) She smells the rose. (6) The rose smells sweet. 

The following is a tabular view of the 



KINDS OF VERBS. 

[ 



INTRANSITIVE. TRANSITIVE. 



I III 

Of State. Of action. Active. Passive. 

(Sleep.) (Run.) (Wound.) (Be wounded.) 



THE INFLEXIONS OF VERBS. 

6. Verbs are changed or modified for Voice, Mood, Tense, 
Number, and Person. These changes are expressed, partly by 
inflexion, and partly by the use of auxiliary verbs. 

(i) A verb is an auxiliary verb (from Lat. auxilium, aid) when its* 
own full and real meaning drops out of sight, and it aids or helps the 
verb to which it is attached to express its meaning. Thus we say, " He 
works hard that he may gain the prize ; " and here may has not its old 
meaning of power, or its present meaning of permission. But — 

(ii) If we say " He may go," here may is not used as an auxiliary, 
but is a notional verb, with its full meaning ; and the sentence is = 
" He has leave to go." 



THE VERB. 37 



Voice. 

7. Voice is that form of the Yerb by which we show 
whether the subject of the statement denotes the doer of the 
action, or the object of the action, expressed by the verb. 

8. There are two Voices : the Active Voice, and the Passive 
Voice. 

(i) When a verb is used in the active voice, 

the subject of the sentence stands for 
the doer of the action. " He killed the mouse." 
(ii) When a verb is in the passive voice, 

the subject of the sentence stands for 

the Object of the action. " The mouse was killed." 

Or we may say that, in the passive voice 
the grammatical subject denotes the real 
object, 
(iii) There is in English a kind of middle voice. Thus we can say, 
"He opened the door" (active); "The door was opened" (passive); 
"The door opened" (middle). In the same way we have, "This wood 
cuts easily ; " " Honey tastes sweet ; " " The book sold well," etc. 

9. An Intransitive Verb, as it can have no direct object, 
cannot be used in the passive voice. But, as we have seen, 
we can make an intransitive into a transitive verb by adding 
a preposition ; and hence we can say : — 

Active. Passive. 

(a) They laughed at him. (6) He was laughed-at by them, 

(a) The general spoke to him. (b) He was spoken-to by the general. 

10. In changing a verb in the active voice into the passive, 
we may make either (i) the direct or (ii) the indirect object 
into the subject of the passive verb. 

Active. . Passive. 

1. They offered her a chair. (i) A chair was offered her. 

(ii) She was offered a chair. 

2. They showed him the house. (i) The house was shown him. 

(ii) He was shown the house. 

3. I promised the boy a coat. (i) A coat was promised the bo}-. 

(ii) The boy was promised a coat. 

The object after the passive verb is not the real object of that verb, for 
a passive verb cannot rightly take an object. It is left over, as it were, from, the 
active verb, and is hence sometimes called a Retained Object. 



38 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

11. The passive voice of a verb is formed by using a part 
of the verb to be and the past participle of the verb. Thus 
we say — 

Active. Passive. Active. Passive. 

I beat. I am beaten. I have beaten. I have been beaten. 

(i) Some intransitive verbs form their perfect tenses by means of the 
verb to be and their past participle, as " I am come ; " " He is gone." 
But the meaning here is quite different. There is no mark of anything 
done to the subject of the verb. 

(ii) Shakespeare has the phrases : is run ; is arrived ; are marched 
forth ; is entered into ; is stolen away. 

Mood. 

12. The Mood of a verb is the manner in which the state- 
ment made by the verb is presented to the mind. Is a 
statement made directly? Is a command given? Is a state- 
ment subjoined to another 1 ? All these are different moods or 
modes. There are four moods : the Indicative ; the Impera- 
tive ; the Subjunctive ; and the Infinitive. 

(i) Indicative comes from the Lat. indicdre, to point out. 

(ii) Imperative come"s from the Lat. imperdre, to command. Hence 
also emperor, empress, etc. (through French). 

(iii) Subjunctive comes from Lat. subjungere, to join on to. 

(iv) Infinitive comes from Lat. infinltus, unlimited ; because the verb 
in this mood is not limited by person, number, etc. 

13. The Indicative Mood makes a direct assertion, or puts 
a question in a direct manner. Thus we say : " John is ill ; " 
"Is John ill?" 

14. The Imperative Mood is the mood of command, 
request, or entreaty. Thus we say : " Go ! " " Give me the 
book, please ; " "Do come back ! " 

(i) The Imperative Mood is the simple form of the verb without any 
inflexion. 

(ii) It has in reality only one person — the second. 

15. The Subjunctive Mood is that form of the verb which 
is used mainly in a sentence subjoined to a principal 



THE VERB. 39 

sentence, — and which does not express a fact directly, but 
only the relation of a fact to the mind of the speaker. 
Most often it expresses both doubt and futurity. Thus we 
say: (i) "0 that he were here!" (ii) "Love not sleep, lest 
thou come -to poverty." (iii) "Whoever he be, he cannot be 
a good man." 

(i) In the first sentence, the person is not here. 

(ii) In the second, the person spoken to has not come to poverty ; but 
he may. 

(iii) In the third, we do not know who the person really is. 

(iv) The Subjunctive Mood, in modern English, has lost many of its 
older uses. 

16. The Infinitive Mood is that form of the verb which 
has no reference to any agent, and is therefore unlimited by 
person or by number. It is the verb itself, pure and simple. 

(i) The preposition to is not an essential part nor a necessary sign of 
the infinitive. The oldest sign of it was the ending in an. After may, 
can, shall, will, must, bid, dare, do, let, make, hear, see, feel, need, the 
simple infinitive, without to, is still used. 

(ii) The Infinitive is really a noun, and it may be (a) either in the 
nominative or (6) in the obj. case. Thus we have : (a) " To err is 
human ; to forgive, divine ; " and (6) " I wish to go." 

(iii) In O.E. it was partly declined ; and the dative case ended 
in anne or enne. Then to was placed before this dative, to indicate 
purpose. Thus we find, " The sower went out to sow," when, in O.E. 
to sow was to sawenne. This, which is now called the gerundial infinitive, 
has become very common in English. Thus we have, "I came to see 
you ;" "A house to let." "To hear him (= on hearing him) talk, you 
would think he was worth millions." 

(iv) We must be careful to distinguish between (a) the pure Infinitive 
and (6) the gerundial Infinitive. Thus we say — 

(a) I want to see him. (6) I went to see him. The latter is the 
gerundial infinitive — that is, the old dative. 

(c) The gerundial infinitive is attached (1) to a noun ; and (2) to an 
adjective. Thus we have such phrases as — 

(1) Bread to eat; water to drink ; a house to sell. 

(2) Wonderful to relate ; quick to take offence ; eager to go. 

17. A Gerund is a noun formed from a verb by the addition 
of ing. It may be either (i) a subject ; or (ii) an object ; or 



40 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



(iii) it may be governed by a preposition. It has two functions : 
that of a noun, and that of a verb — that is, it is itself a noun, 
and it has the governing power of a verb. 

(i) Reading is pleasant, (ii) I like reading, (iii) He got off by cross- 
ing the river. In this last sentence, crossing is a noun in relation to by, 
and a verb in relation to river. 

Gerund comes from the Lat. gero, I carry on ; because it carries on 
the power or function of the verb. 

(ii) The Gerund must be carefully distinguished from three other 
kinds of words : (a) from the verbal noun, which used to end in ung ; 
(b) from the present participle ; and (c) from the infinitive with to. 
The following are examples : — 

(o) "Forty and six years was this tem- 
ple in building." Here building is a 
verbal noun. 

(b) "Dreaming as he -went along, he 
fell into the brook." Here dreaming has 
the function of an adjective agreeing with 
he, and is therefore a participle. 

(c) "To write is quite easy, when one 
has a good pen." Here to write is a pres- 
ent infinitive, and is the nominative to is. 
(It must not be forgotten that the oldest 
infinitive had no to, and that it still exists 
in this pure form in such lines as " Better 
dwell in the midst of alarms, than reign 
in this horrible place." 



(a) "He was punished for robbing the 
orchard." Here robbing is a gerund, be- 
cause it is a noun and also governs a noun. 

(b) " He was tired of dreaming such 
dreams." Here dreaming is a gerund, 
because it is a noun and governs a noun. 

(c) " He comes here to write his letters." 
Here to write is the gerundial infinitive ; 
it is in the dative case ; and the O.E. 
form was to writanne. Here the to has 
a distinct meaning. This is the so- 
called "infinitive of purpose;" but it is 
a true gerund. In the seventeenth cen- 
tury, when the sense of the to was weak- 
ened, it took a for, — ' ' What went ye out 
for to see ? ' 



(iii) The following three words in ing have each a special function : — 

(a) He is reading about the passing of Arthur (verbal noun). 

(b) And Arthur, passing thence (participle), rode to the wood. 

(c) This is only good for passing the time (gerund). 



18. A Participle is a verbal adjective. There are two par- 
ticiples : the Present Active and the Perfect Passive. The 
former (i) has two functions : that of an adjective and that 
of a verb. The latter (ii) has only the function of an adjective. 

(i) "Hearing the noise, the porter ran to the gate." In this sentence, 
hearing is an adjective qualifying porter, and a verb governing noise. 

(ii) Defeated and discouraged, the enemy surrendered. 

B2T 1. We must be very careful to distinguish between (a) the gerund in 
vng, and (b) the participle in ing. Thus running in a " running stream " 



THE VERB. 41 

is an adjective, and therefore a participle. In the phrase, " in running 
along," it is a noun, and therefore a gerund. Milton says — 

" And ever, against eating cares, 
Lap me in soft Lydian airs ! " 

Here eating is an adjective, and means fretting ; and it is therefore a 
participle. But if it had meant cares about eating, eating would have 
been a noun, and therefore a gerund. So a fishing-rod is not a rod 
that fishes ; a frying-pan is not a pan that fries ; a walking-stick is not 
a stick that walks. The rod is a rod for fishing ; the pan, a pan for 
frying; the stick, a stick for walking; and therefore fishing, frying, 
and walking are all gerunds. 

2. The word participle comes from Lat. participdre, to partake of. 
The participle partakes of the nature of the verb. (Hence also par- 
ticipate.) 

Tense. 

19. Tense is the form which the verb takes to indicate time. 
There are three times : past, present, and future. Hence there 
are in a verb three chief tenses : Past, Present, and Future. 
These may be represented on a straight line : — 

TENSES. 

| 

I I I 

Past. Present. Future. 

I wrote. I write. I shall write. 

(i) The word tense comes to us from the Old French tens, which is 
from the Lat. tempus, time. Hence also temporal, temporary, etc. (The 
modern French word is temps. ) 

20. The tenses of an English verb give not only the time of 
an action or event, but also the state or condition of that 
action o^ event. This state may be complete or incomplete, 
or neither — that is, it is left indefinite. These states are 
oftener called perfect, imperfect, and indefinite. The con- 
dition, then, of an action as expressed by a verb, or the con- 
dition of the tense of a verb, may be of three kinds. It may 
be— 

(i) Complete or Perfect, as Written, 

(ii) Incomplete or Imperfect, as Writing, 
(iii) Indefinite, as Write. 



42 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

We now have therefore — 

TENSES. 

j 

Past. Present. Future. 



Ill III III. 

Perfect. Indef. Imperf. Perfect. Indef. Imperf. Perfect. Indef Imperf. 

Had Wrote. Was Have Write. Am Shall Shall Shall be 

written. writing. written. writing. have write, writing. 

written. 

(i) The only tense in our language that is formed by inflexion is the 
past indefinite. All the others are formed by the aid of auxiliaries. 

(a) The imperfect tenses are formed by be + the imperfect 

participle. 

(b) The perfect tenses are formed by have + the perfect par- 

ticiple. 

(ii) Besides had written, have written, and will have written, we can say 
had been writing, have been , writing , and will have been writing. These 
are sometimes called Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Continuous, Perfect 
Continuous, and Future Perfect Continuous. 

(hi) " I do write," " I did write," are called Emphatic forms. 



Number. 

21. Verbs are modified for Number. There are in verbs 
two numbers : (i) the Singular and (ii) the Plural. 

(i) We say, " He writes " (with the ending s). 

(ii) "We say, " They write " (with no inflectional ending at all). 

Person. 

22. Verbs are modified for Person — that is, the form of the 
verb is changed to suit (i) the first person, (ii) the second 
person, or (iii) the third person. 

(i) " I write." (ii) " Thou writest. " (iii) " He writes." 

Conjugation. 

23. Conjugation is the name given to the sum-total of all the 
inflexions and combinations of the parts of a verb. 

The word conjugate comes from the Lat. conjugare, to bind together. 



THE VERB. 43 

24. There are two conjugations in English — the Strong and 
the Weak. Hence we have : (i) verbs of the Strong Con- 
jugation, and (ii) verbs of the Weak Conjugation, which 
are more usually called Strong Verbs and Weak Verbs. 
These verbs are distinguished from each other by their way 
of forming their past tenses. 

25. The past tense of any verb determines to which of these 
classes it belongs • and that by a twofold test — one positive and 
one negative. 

26. (i) The positive test for the past of a Strong Verb 
is that it changes the vowel of the present, (ii) The nega- 
tive test is that it never adds anything to the present to make 
its past tense.' 

(i) Thus we say write, wrote, and change the vowel, 
(ii) But in wrote there is nothing added to write. 

27. (i) The positive test for the past tense of a Weak Verb 
is that d or t is added to the present, (ii) The negative test is 
that the root-vowel of the present is generally not changed. 

(i) There are some exceptions to this latter statement. Thus tell, 
told ; buy, bought ; sell, sold, are weak verbs. The change in the vowel 
does not spring from the same cause as the change in strong verbs. 
Hence — 

(ii) It is as well to keep entirely to the positive test in the case of 
weak verbs. However "strong" or "irregular" may seem to be the 
verbs teach, taught ; seek, sought ; say, said, we know that they are 
weak, because they add a d or a t for the past tense. 

(iii) In many weak verbs there seems to be both a change of vowel 
and also an absence of any addition. Hence they look like strong 
verbs. In fact, the long vowel of the present is made short in the past. 
Thus we find meet, met ; feed, fed. But these verbs are not strong. 
The old past was mette and fedde ; and all that has happened is that 
they have lost the old inflexions te and de. It was owing to the addi- 
tion of another syllable that the original long vowel of the verb was 
shortened. Compare nation, national; vain, vanity. 

(iv) The past or passive participle of strong verbs had the suffix en 
and the prefix ge. The suffix has now disappeared from many strong 
verbs, and the prefix from all. But ge, which in Chaucer's time had 
become y (as in yeomen, yronnen), is retained still in that form in the 
one word yclept. Milton's use of it in star-y -pointing is a mistake. 



44 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



28. The following is an 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF STRONG VERBS. 

(All strong verbs except those which have a. prefix are monosyllabic.) 
The forms in italics are weak. 



Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Abide 


abode 


abode. 


Fly 


flew 


flown. 


Arise 


arose 


arisen. 


Forbear 


forbore 


forborne. 


Awake 


awoke 


awoke 


Forget 


forgot 


forgotten. 




{awaked) {awaked). 


Forsake 


forsook ' 


forsaken. 


Bear 


bore 


born. 


Freeze 


froze 


frozen. 


(bring forth) 




Get 


got 


got, gotten. 


Bear 


bore 


borne. 


Give 


gave 


given. 


(carry) 






Go 


went ' 


gone. 


Beat 


beat 


beaten. 


Grind 


ground 


ground. 


Begin 


began 


begun. 


Grow 


grew 


grown. 


Behold 


beheld 


beheld (be- 


Hang 


hung 


hung, 






holden). 




{hanged) hanged. 


Bid 


bade, bid 


bidden, bid. 


Hold 


held 


held. 


Bind 


bound 


bound. 


Know 


knew 


known. 


Bite 


bit 


bitten, bit. 


Lie 


lay 


lain. 


Blow 


blew 


blown. 


Ride 


rode 


ridden. 


Break 


broke 


broken. 


Ring 


rang 


rung. 


Burst 


burst 


burst. 


Rise 


rose 


risen. 


Chide 


chid 


chidden, 


Run 


ran 


run. 






chid. 


See 


saw 


seen. 


Choose 


chose 


chosen. 


Seethe 


Bod{seethed) sodden. 


Cleave 


clove 


cloven. 


Shake 


shook 


shaken. 


(split) 






Shine 


shone 


shone. 


Climb 


clomb 


{climbed). 


Shoot 


shot 


shot. 


Cling 


clung 


clung. 


Shrink 


shrank 


shrunk. 


Come 


came 


come. 


Sing 


sang 


sung. 


Crow 


crew 


crown 

{crowed). 


Sink 


sank 


sunk, 
sunken. 


Dig 


dug 


dug. 


Sit 


sat 


sat. 


Do 


did 


done. 


Slay 


slew 


slain. 


*Draw 


drew 


drawn. 


Slide 


slid 


slid. 


Drink 


drank 


drunk, 


Sling 


slung 


slung. 






drunken. 


Slink 


slunk 


slunk. 


Drive 


drove 


driven. 


Smite 


smote 


smitten. 


Eat 


ate 


eaten. 


Speak 


spoke 


spoken. 


Fall 


fell 


fallen. 


Spin 


spun 


spun. 


Fight 


fought 


fought. 


Spring 


sprang 


sprung. 


Find 


found 


found. 


Stand 


stood 


stood. 


Fling 


flung 


flung. 


Stave 


store 


staved. 







THE 


VERB. 




4i 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Steal 


stole 


stolen. 


Thrive 


throve 


thriven 


Stick 


stuck, 1 


stuck. 




(thrived) 


(thrived). 


Sting 

Stink 


stung 
stank 


stung, 
stunk. 


Throw 
Tread 


threw 
trod 


thrown, 
trodden, 


Stride 


strode 


stridden. 






trod. 


Strike 


struck 


struck. 


Wake 


woke 


(waked). 


String 
Strive 


strung 
strove 


strung, 
striven. 


Wear 


(waked) 
wore 


worn. 


Swear 


swore 


sworn. 


Weave 


wove 


woven. 


Swim 


swam 


swum. 


Win 


won 


won. 


Swing 

Take 

Tear 


swung 

took 

tore 


swung. 

taken. 

torn. 


Wind 

Wring 

Write 


wound 
wrung 
wrote 


wound, 
wrung, 
written. 



It is well for the young learner to examine the above verbs 
closely, and to make a classification of them for his own use. 
The following are a few suggestions towards this task : — 

(i) Collect verbs with vowels a, e, a ; like fall, fell, fallen. 
(ii) Verbs with 0, e, o ; like throw, threw, thrown, 
(hi) Verbs with i, a, u ; like begin, began, begun, 
(iv) Verbs with i, u, u ; like fling, flung, flung, 
(v) Verbs with i, ou, ou ; like find, found, found, 
(vi) Verbs with ea, o, o ; like break, broke, broken, 
(vii) Verbs with i, a, i ; like give, gave, given, 
(viii) Verbs with a, o or oo, a ; like shake, shook, shaken. 
(ix) Verbs with i (long), o, i (short) ; like drive, drove, driven. 
(x) Verbs with ee or oo, o, o ; like freeze, froze, frozen ; or choose, 
chose, chosen. 

29. Weak Verbs are of two kinds : (i) Irregular "Weak ; 
and (ii) Regular Weak. The Irregular Weak are such verbs 
as tell, told; buy, bought. The Eegular Weak are such 
verbs as attend, attended ; obey, obeyed. 

(i) The Irregular Weak verbs are, with very few exceptions, mono- 
syllables, and are almost all of purely English origin. 

(ii) The Regular Weak verbs are generally of Latin or of French 
origin. Since the language lost the power of changing the root-vowel 
of a verb, every verb received into our tongue from another language 
has been placed in the Regular Weak conjugation. 



1 The past tenses of dig and stick were formerly weak. 



46 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



30. Irregular Weak verbs are themselves divided into two 
classes : (i) those which keep their ed, d, or t in the past 
tense; (ii) those which have lost the d or t. Thus we find 
(i) sleep, slept ; teach, taught. Among (ii) we find feed, fed, 
which was once fed-de ; set, set, which was once set-te. 

It is of the greatest importance to attend to the following 
changes : — 

(i) A sharp consonant in the spoken language follows a sharp, and a 
flat a flat. Thus p in sleep is sharp, and therefore we cannot say steeped. 
We must take the sharp form of d, which is t, and say slept. 

(ii) Some verbs shorten their vowel. Thus we have hear, heard ; 
flee, fled; sleep, slept, etc. 

(iii) Some verbs have different vowels in the present and past : as 
tell, told ; buy, bought ; teach, taught ; work, wrought. But it is not 
the past tense, it is the present that has changed. 

(iv) Some have dropped an internal letter. Thus made is = maked ; 
paid = payed; had = haved. 

(v) Some verbs change the d of the present into a t in the past. Thus 
we have build, built ; send, sent. 

(vi) A large class have the three parts — present, past, and passive 
participle — exactly alike. Such are rid, set, etc. 

The following is an 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF IRREGULAR WEAK VERBS. 
Class I. 



Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Bereave 


bereft 


bereft. 


Dwell 


dwelt 


dwelt. 


Beseech 


besought 


besought. 


Feel 


felt 


felt. 


Bring 


brought 


brought. 


Flee 


fled 


fled. 


Burn 


burnt 


burnt. 


Grave 


graved 


graven- 


Buy 


bought 


bought. 


Have 


had 


had. 


Catch 


caught 


caught. 


Hew 


hewed 


hewn. 


Cleave 


cleft 


cleft 


Hide 


hid 


hidden. 


(split) 






Keep 


kept 


kept. 


Creep 


crept 


crept. 


Kneel 


knelt 


knelt. 


Deal 


dealt 


dealt. 


Lay 


laid 


laid. 


Dream 


dreamt 


dreamt. 


Lean 


leant 


leant. 







THE 


VERB. 




47 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass Part. 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Learn 


learnt 


learnt. 


Shear 


sheared 


shorn. 


Leap 


leapt 


leapt. 


Shoe 


shod 


shod. 


Leave 


left 


left. 


Show 


showed 


shown. 


Lose 


lost 


lost. 


Sleep 


slept 


slept. 


Make 


made 


made. 


Sow 


sowed 


sown. 


Mean 


meant 


meant. 


Spell 


spelt 


spelt. 


Pay 


paid 


paid. 


Spill 


spilt 


spilt. 


Pen 


pent 


pent. 


Strew 


strewed 


strewn. 




(penned) 


Sweep 


swept 


swept. 


Rap (to 


rapt 


rapt. 


Swell 


swelled 


swollen. 


transport) 




Teach 


taught 


taught. 


Eive 


rived 


riven. 


Tell 


told 


told. 


Rot 


rotted 


rotten. 1 


Think 


thought 


thought. 


Say 


said 


said. 


Weep 


wept 


wept. 


Seek 


sought 


sought. 


Work 


wrought 


wrought. 1 


Sell 


sold 


sold. 




worked 


worked. 


Shave 


shaved 


shaven. 








1 Rotten and tore 


ught are now used as adjectives, and 


not as passive 


participles ; cp. wrought iron, rotte 


n wood. 










Clas 


s II. 






Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Pres. 


Past. 


Pass. Part. 


Bend 


bent 


bent. 


Meet 


met 


met 


Bleed 


bled 


bled. 


Put 


put 


put. 


Blend 


blent 


blent. 


Read 


read 


read. 


Breed 


bred 


bred. 


Rend 


rent 


rent. 


Build 


built 


built. 


Rid 


rid 


rid. 


Cast 


cast 


cast. 


Send 


sent 


sent. 


Clothe 


clad 


clad 


Set 


set 


set. 




(clothed) (clothed). 


Shed 


shed 


shed. 


Cost 


cost 


cost. 


Shred 


shred 


shred. 


Cut 


cut 


cut. 


Shut 


shut 


shut. 


Feed 


fed 


fed. 


Slit 


slit 


slit. 


Gild 


gilt 


gilt (gilded). 


Speed 


sped 


sped. 




(gilded) 




Spend 


spent 


spent. 


Gird 


girt 


girt. 


Spit 


spit 


spit. 


Hear 


heard 


heard. 


Split 


split 


split. 


Hit 


hit 


hit. 


Spread 


spread 


spread. 


Hurt 


hurt 


hurt. 


Sweat 


sweat 


sweat. 


Knit 


knit 


knit. 


Thrust 


thrust 


thrust. 


Lead 


led 


led. 


Wend 


wended 


wended. 


Lend 


lent 


lent. 




or went 


Let 


let 


let. 


Wet 


wet 


wet 


Light 


lit (lighted) lit (lighted). 









48 



GEAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



31. Before we can learn the full conjugation of a verb, we 
must acquaint ourselves with aU the parts of the auxiliary- 
verbs — Shall and "Will ; Have and Be. 

(i) If be means existence merely (as in the sentence God is), it is 
called a notional verb ; if it is used in the formation of the passive 
voice, it is an auxiliary verb. In the same way, have is a notional 
verb when it means to possess, as in the sentence, " I have a shilling. " 

32. The following are the parts of the verb Shall : — 



Indicative Mood. 
Present Tense. 



Singular. 

1. I shall. 

2. Thou shal-t. 

3. He shall. 



Singular. 

1. I shoul-d. 

2. Thou shoul-d-st 

3. He shoul-c?. 



Fast Tense. 



Plural. 

1. We shall. 

2. You shall. 

3. They shall. 

Plural. 

1. We shoul-d 

2. You shoul-d 

3. They shoul-d 



Imp. Mood 



Inf. Mood 



Participles 



33. The following are the parts of the verb Will : — 



Indicative Mood. 



Presemt Tense. 



Singular. 

1. I will. 

2. Thou wil-t. 

3. He will. 



Singular. 

1. I woul-d. 

2. Thou woul-rf-st. 

3. He woul-rf. 



Fast Tense. 



Imp. Mood 



Inf. Mood 



Plural. 

1. We will 

2. You wilL 

3. They wilL 

Plural. 

1. We woul-rf. 

2. You woul-rf. 

3. They woul-d. 

Participles 



(i) Shall and will are used as Tense-auxiliaries. As a tense-auxiliary, 
shall is used only in the first person. Thus we say, I shall write ; 
thou wilt write ; he will write— when we speak merely of future time. 



THE VERB. 49 

(ii) Shan't is = shall not. Won't is = wol not, wol being another form 
of will. We find wol also in wolde — an old spelling of would. 

(hi) Snail in the 1st person expresses simple futurity ; in the 2d and 
3d persons, authority. Will in the 1st person expresses determination ; 
in the 2d and 3d, only futurity. 

34. The following are the parts of the verb Have : — 



Indicative 


Mood. 


Present Indefinite Tense. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


1. I have. 


1. We have. 


2. Thou ha-st. 


2. You have. 


3. He ha-s. 


3. Theyhava. 


Present Perfect Tense. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


1. I have had. 


1. We have had. 


2. Thou hast had. 


2. You have had. 


3. He has had. 


3. They have had. 



Past Indefinite Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had. 1. We had. 

2. Thou had-st. 2. You had. 

3. He had. 3 They had. 

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had had. 1. We had had. 

2. Thou hadst had. 2. You had had. 

3. He had had. 3. They had had. 

Future Indefinite Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have. 1. We shall have. 

2. Thou wilt have. 2. You will have. 

3. He will have. 3. They will have. 

Future Perfect Tense. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have had. 1. We shall have had. 

2. Thou wilt have had. 2. You will have had. 

3. He will have had. 3. They will have had, 

D 



50 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Subjunctive Mood. 
Present Indefinite Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I have. 1. "VVe have. 

2. Thou have. 2. You have. 

3. He have. 3. They have. 

Present Perfect Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I have had. 1. We have had. 

2. Thou have had. 2. You have had. 

3. He have had. 3. They have had. 

Past Indefinite Tense. 

Same in form as the Indicative. 

Past Perfect Tense. 

Same in form as the Indicative. 

Imperative Mood. — Singular: Have! 
Plural : Have ! 

Infinitive Mood.— Present Indefinite : (To) hare. 
Perfect : (To) have had. 

Participles.— Imperfect : Having. 

Past (or Passive) : Had. 

Compound Perfect (Active) : Having had. 

35. The following are the parts of the verb Be : — 
Indicative Mood. 

Present Indefinite Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I a-m. 1. We are. 

2. Thou ar-t. 2. You are. 

3. He is. 3. They are. 

Present Perfect Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been. 1. We have been. 

2. Thou hast been. 2. You have been. 

3. He has been. 3. They have beem. 



THE VERB. 51 



Past Indefinite Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I was. 1. We were. 

2. Thou wast or wert. 2. You were. 
&. He was. 3. They were. 

Past Perfect (Pluperfect) Tense. 
Singular. . Plural. 

1. I had been. 1. We had been. 

2. Thou hadst been. 2. You had been. 

3. He had been. 3. They had been. 

Future Indefinite Tense. 
I shall be, etc. 

Future Perfect Tense. 
I shall have been, etc. 

Subjunctive Mood. 

Present Indefinite Tense. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I be. 1. We be. 

2. Thou be. 2. You be. 

3. He be. 3. They be. 





Present Perfect Tense. 


1. 

2. 
3. 


Singular. 
I have been. 
Thou have been. 
He have been. 


Plural. 

1. We have been. 

2. You have been. 

3. They have been. 




Past Indefinite Tense. 


1. 
2. 
3. 


Singular. 
I were. 
Thou wert. 
He were. 


Plural. 

1. We were. 

2. You were. 

3. They were. 



Past Perfect (Pluperfect) Tense. 
(Same in form as the Indicative. ) 
Singular. Plural. 



1. I had been. 


1. We had been. 


2. Thou hadst been. 


2. You had been. 


3. He had been. 


3. They had been. 



52 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Imperative Mood. — Singular : Be ! 
Plural : Be ! 

Infinitive Mood.— Present Indefinite : (To) be. 

Present Perfect : (To) have been. 

Participles, — Present : Being. 
Past : Been. 
Compound : Having been. 

We find the short simple form Be ! in Coleridge s line— 

" Be, rather than he called, a child of God ! " 

(i) It is plain from the above that the verb Be is made up of fragments 
of three different verbs. As when, in a battle, several companies of a 
regiment have been severely cut up, and the fragments of those that 
came out safely are afterwards formed into one company, so has it been 
with the verb be. Hence the verb ought to be printed thus : — 

Am 

was 

been. 

(ii) Am is a different verb from was and been. The m in am is the 
same as the m in me, and marks the first person. The t in art is the 
same as the th in thou, and marks the second person. Compare ivil-t 
and shal-t. Is has lost the suffix th. The Germans retain this, and say 
ist. Are is not the O.E. plural, which was sind or sindon. The word 
are was introduced by the Danes. 

(iii) Was is the past tense of the old verb wesan, to be. In some of 
the dialects of England it appears as wai — the German form. 

(iv) Be is a verb without present or past tense. 

(v) (a) Be is a notional or principal verb when it means to exist, as 
" God is." (6) It is also a principal verb when it is used as a joiner or 
copula, as in the sentence, "John is a teacher," where the is enables us 
to connect John and teacher in the mind. In such instances it is called 
a Copulative Verb or Copula. 



THE VERB. 53 

36. The Auxiliary Verbs have different functions. 

(i) .The verb Be is a Voice (and sometimes a Tense) Aux- 
iliary. It enables us to turn the active into the passive voice, 
and to form the imperfect tenses. 

(ii) May, should, and let are Mood Auxiliaries. May and 
should help us to make the compound subjunctive tenses ; and 
let is employed in the Imperative Mood to form a kind of third 
person. Thus Let him go is = Go he ! 

(iii) Have, Shall, and Will, are Tense Auxiliaries. With 
the aid of have, we form the perfect tenses ; with the help of 
shall and will, the future tenses. 

(iv) Can is a defective verb with only one mood, the In- 
dicative, and two tenses, the Present and the Past. 

Present. I can ; thou canst, etc. 
Past. I could ; thou couldst, etc. 

Could is a weak form. The I has no right there : it has crept in from 
a false analogy with should and would, Chaucer always writes coude or 
couthe. 

(v) May is also defective, having only the Indicative Mood 
and the Present and Past Tenses. 

Present. I may ; thou may est, etc. 
Past. I might ; thou mightest, etc. 

The O.E. word for may was maegan. The g is still preserved in the 
gh of the past tense. The guttural sound indicated by g or gh has 
vanished from both. 

(vi) Must is the past tense of an old verb motan, to be 
able. 

It is used only in the Indicative Mood, sometimes in the Present, 
sometimes in the Past Tense ; but the form is the same for both 
tenses. 

It expresses the idea of necessity. 



54 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

37. The following is the full conjugation of a verb 

ACTIVE VOICE. 
Indicative Mood. 

I. Present Indefinite Tense. 
I strike. 

Present Imperfect Tense. 
I am striking. 

Present Perfect Tense. 
I have struck. 

Present Perfect Continuous. 
I have been striking. 

II. Past Indefinite Tense. 
I struck. 

Past Imperfect Tense. 
I was striking. 

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Tense. 
I had struck. 

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Continuous. 

I had been striking. 

III. Future Indefinite Tense. 
I shall strike. 

Future Imperfect Tense. 
I shall be striking. 

Future Perfect Tense. 
I shall have struck. 

Future Perfect Continuous. 
I shall have been striking. 

Subjunctive Mood. 

I. Present Indefinite Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he strike. 

Present Imperfect Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he be striking. 



THE VERB. 55 

Present Perfect Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he have struck. 

Present Perfect Continuous. 
(If) I, thou, he have been striking. 

II. Past Indefinite Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he struck. 

Past Imperfect Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he were striking. 

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Tense. 
(Same in form as the Indicative.) 

Past Perfect (or Pluperfect) Continuous. 

(Same in form as the Indicative.) 

Imperative Mood. 

Present Tense. 
Singular. 2. Strike (thou) ! Plural 2. Strike (ye) ! 

Infinitive Mood. 

1. Present Indefinite, . . (To) strike. 

2. Present Imperfect, . . (To) be striking. 

3. Present Perfect, . . . (To) have struck. 

4. Present Perfect Continuous, (To) have been striking. 

5. Future Indefinite, • . (To) be about to strike. 

Participles. 

1. Indefinite and Imperfect, . Striking. 

2. Present Perfect, . . . Having struck. 

3. Perfect Continuous, . . Having been striking. 

Gerunds. 
1. Striking. 2. To strike. 



PASSIVE VOICE. 

Indicative Mood. 

I. Present Tense. 
I am struck (am being struck). 

Present Perfect Tense. 
I have been struck. 



56 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

II. Past Tense. 
I was struck (was being struck). 

Past Perfect Tense. 
I had been struck. 

III. Future Indefinite Tense. 
I shall be struck. 

Future Perfect Tense. 
I shall have been struck. 

Subjunctive Mood. 

I. Present Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he be struck. 

Present Perfect Tense. 
(If) I, thou, he have been struck. 

II. Past Tense. 

(If) I, thou, he were struck (were being struck). 

Past Perfect Tense. 
(If) I had been struck. 

Imperative Mood. 

Present Tense. 
Singular. 2. Be struck ! Plural. 2. Be struck ! 

Infinitive Mood. 

1. Present Indefinite, . . (To) be struck. 

2. Imperfect, .... (None.) 

3. Present Perfect, . . . (To) have been struck. 

Participles. 

1. Past Indefinite, . . . Struck. 

2. Imperfect, .... Being struck. 

3. Present Perfect, . . . Having been struck. 

4. Future, Going or about to be struck. 

Gerunds. 
(None.) 



ADVERBS. 57 



ADVERBS. 

1. . An Adverb is a word which goes with a verb, with an 
adjective, or with another adverb, to modify its meaning : — 

(i) He writes badly. Here badly modifies the verb writes. 

(ii) The weather is very hot. Here very modifies the adjective 
hot. 

(iii) She writes very rapidly. Here rapidly modifies writes, and 
very, rapidly. 

THE CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBS. 

2. Adverbs — so far as their function is concerned — are of 
two kinds : (i) Simple Adverbs and (ii) Conjunctive Adverbs, 
(i) A Simple Adverb merely modifies the word it goes with. 
A Conjunctive Adverb lias two functions : (a) it modifies, 
and (b) joins one sentence with another. Thus, if I say " He 
came when he was ready," the adverb when not only modifies 
the verb came, and shows the time of his coming, but it joins 
together the two sentences " He came" and " he was ready." 

3. Adverbs — so far as their meaning is concerned — are of 
several kinds. There are Adverbs : (i) of Time, (ii) of Place, 
(iii) of Number, (iv) of Manner, (v) of Degree, (vi) of 
Assertion, and (vii) of Reasoning : — 

(i) Of Time : Now, then ; to-day, to-morrow ; by-and-by, etc. 

(ii) Of Place : Here, there ; hither, thither ; hence, thence, etc. 

(iii) Of Number : Once, twice, thrice ; singly, two by two, etc. 

(iv) Of Marnier : Well, ill ; slowly, quickly ; better, worse, etc. 

(v) Of Degree : Very, little ; almost, quite ; all, half, etc. 

(vi) Of Assertion : Nay, yea ; no, aye ; yes, etc. 

(vii) Of Reasoning : Therefore, wherefore ; thus ; consequently. 

THE COMPARISON OF ADVERBS. 

4. Adverbs, like adjectives, admit of degrees of comparison. 
Thus we can say, John works hard ; Tom works harder ; but 
William works hardest of all. 



58 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



5. The following are examples of 



Irregular Comparison in Adverbs. 



Positive. 




Comparative. 


Superlative. 


Ill {or Badly) 


worse 


worst. 


Well 




better 


best. 


Much 




more 


most. 


Little 




less 


least. 


Nigh (or 


Near) 


nearer 


next. 


Forth 




further 


furthest. 


Far 




farther 


farthest. 


Late 




later 


last. 






latter 


latest. 


(Eathe) 




rather. 






(i) Worse (adv.) comes from A.S. wyrs. Shakespeare has worser. 

(ii) Much is an adverb in the phrase much better. 

(iii) Little is an adverb in the phrase little inclined. 

(iv) Next = nighest ; and so we had also next = highest. Near i? 
really the comparative of nigh. 

(v) Farrer would be the proper comparative. Chaucer has farre, 
and this is still found in Yorkshire. The th in farther comes from a 
false analogy with forth, further, furthest. 

(vi) Late is an adverb in the phrase He arrived late. 

(vii) "Till rathe she rose, half- cheated in the thought." — Tennyson 
(' Lancelot and Elaine '). 

CONNECTIVES. 

1. There is, in grammar, a class of words which may be 
called joining -words or connectives. They are of two classes : 
(i) those which join nouns or pronouns to some other word ; 
and (ii) those which join sentences. The first class are called 
Prepositions \ the second Conjunctions. 



PREPOSITIONS. 

2. A Preposition is a word which connects a noun or pro- 
noun with a verb, an adjective, or another noun or pronoun. 
(It thus shows the relation between things, or between a thing 
and an action, etc.) 

(i) He stood on the table. Here on joins a verb and a noun. 



CONNECTIVES. 59 

(ii) Mary is fond of music. Here of joins an adjective and a noun. 

(iii) The man at the door is waiting. Here at joins two nouns. 

The word preposition comes from the Lat. prce, before, and positus, placed. 
We have similar compounds in composition and deposition. 

3. The noun or pronoun which follows the preposition is in 
the objective case, and is said to be governed by the prepo- 
sition. 

(i) But the preposition may come at the end of the sentence. Thus 
we can say, " This is the house we were looking at." But at still gov- 
erns which (understood) in the objective. We can also say, " Whom 
were you talking to ? " 

4. Prepositions are divided into two classes : (i) simple ; 
and (ii) compound. 

(i) The following are simple prepositions : at, by, for, in, of, off, on, 
<mt, to, with, up. 

(ii) The compound prepositions are formed in several ways : — 

(a) By adding a comparative suffix to an adverb : after, over. 

(b) By prefixing a preposition to an adverb : above, about, before, behind, be' 
neath, but ( = be-out), throughout, within, etc. 

(c) By prefixing a preposition to a noun : aboard, across, around, among, be- 
side, outside, etc. 

(d) By prefixing an adverb or adverbial particle to a preposition : into, upon, 
until, etc. 

(iii) The preposition but is to be carefully distinguished from the con- 
junction but. " All were there but him." Here but is a preposition. 
"We waited an hour ; but he did not come." Here but is a conjunction. 
But, the preposition, was in O.E. be-utan, and meant on the outside of, 
and then without. The old proverb, " Touch not the cat but a glove," 
means " without a glove." 

(iv) Down was adown = of down — off the down or hill. 

(v) Among was = on gemong, in the crowd. 

(vi) There are several compound prepositions made up of separate 
words : instead of, on account of, in spite of, etc. 

(vii) Some participles are used as prepositions : notwithstanding, con- 
cerning, respecting. The prepositions except and save may be regarded 
as imperatives. 

5. The same words are used sometimes as adverbs, and some- 
times as prepositions. We distinguish these words by their 
function. They can also be used as nouns or as adjectives. 



60 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

\i) Thus we find the following words used either as 

Adverbs or as Prepositions. 

(1) Stand up ! (1) The boy ran up the hill. 

(2) Come on ! (2) The book lies on the table. 

(3) Be off! (3) Get off the cbair. 

(4) He walked quickly past. (4) He walked past the church. 

(ii) Adverbs are sometimes used as nouns, as in the sentences, " I 
have met him before now." " He is dead since then." 

(iii) In the following we find adverbs used as adjectives : " thine 
often infirmities ; "'' " the then king," etc. 

(iv) A phrase sometimes does duty as an adverb, as in " from beyond 
the sea ; " " from over the mountains," etc. 

CONJUNCTIONS. 

6. A Conjunction is a word that joins words and sentences 

together. 

E.g. — "Two and three are five," or "John came and James left." 
In the first case it is obvious that " and " joins words only, as, in the 
second case, it joins sentences. 

7. Conjunctions are of two kinds : (i) Co-ordinative ; and 

(ii) Subordinative. 

(i) Co-ordinative Conjunctions are those which connect co-ordinate 
sentences and clauses — that is, sentences neither of which is dependent 
on the other. The following is a list : And, both, but, 'eithei — or, neither 
— nor. 

(ii) Subordinative Conjunctions are those which connect subordinate 
sentences with the principal sentence to which they are subordinate. 
The type of a subordinative conjunction is that, which is really the de- 
monstrative pronoun. " I know that he has gone to London " is = " He 
has gone to London : I know that." 

(iii) The following is a list of subordinative conjunctions : After, 
before; ere, till; while, since; lest; because, as; for; if; unless; 
though; whether — or; than. 



INTERJECTIONS. 

1. Interjections are words Avhich have no meaning in them- 
selves, but which give sudden expression to an emotion of 
the mind. They are no real part of language ; they do not 
enter into the build or organism of a sentence. They have no 
grammatical relation to any word in a sentence, and are there* 



WORDS KNOWN BY THEIR FUNCTIONS. 61 

fore not, strictly speaking, " parts of speech." Thus we say, Oh ! 
Ah ! Alas ! and so on ; but the sentences we employ would be 
just as complete — in sense — without them. They are extra- 
grammatical utterances. 

(i) The word interjection comes from the Lat. inter, between, and 
jactus, thrown. 

(ii) Sometimes words with a meaning are used as interjections. Thus 
we say, Welcome ! for " You are well come. " Good-bye ! for God be with 
you / The interjection " Now then ! " consists of two words, each of 
which has a meaning ; but when employed inter jectionally, the compound 
meaning is very different from the meaning of either. 

(iii) In written and printed language, interjections are followed by the 
mark (!) of admiration or exclamation. 



WORDS KNOWN BY THEIR FUNCTIONS, 
AND NOT BY THEIR INFLEXIONS. 

1. The Oldest English. — "When our language first came over 
to this island, in the fifth century, our words possessed a large 
number of inflexions ; and a verb could be known from a noun, 
and an adjective from either, by the mere look of it. Verbs 
had one kind of inflexion, nouns another, adjectives a third ; 
and it was almost impossible to confuse them. Thus, in O.E. 
(or Anglo-Saxon) thunder, the verb, was tlmnrian — with the 
ending an; but the noun was thunor, without any ending at 
all. Then, in course of time, for many and various reasons, 
the English language began to lose its inflexions; and they 
dropped off very rapidly between the 11th and the 15th cen- 
turies, till, nowadays, we possess very few indeed. 

2. Freedom given by absence of Inflexions. — In the 16th 
century, when Shakespeare began to write, there were very 
few inflexions ; the language began to feel greater liberty, 
greater ease in its movements ; and a writer would use the same 
word sometimes as one part of speech, and sometimes as another. 
Thus Shakespeare himself uses the conjunction but both as a 
verb and as a noun, and makes one of his characters say, " But 



62 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

me no buts ! " He employs the adverb askance as a verb, and 
says, "From their own misdeeds they askance their eyes." He 
nas the adverb backward with the function of a noun, as in the 
phrase " The backward and abysm of time." Again, he gives 
us an adverb doing the work of an adjective, as in the phrases 
"my often rumination," "a seldom pleasure." In the same 
way, Shakespeare has the verbs " to glad " and " to mad." Very 
often he uses an adjective as a noun; and " a fair " is his phrase 
for "beauty," — "a pale" for "a paleness." He carries this 
power of using one " part of speech " for another to the most 
extraordinary lengths. He uses happy for to make happy; 
unfair for to deface ; to climate for to live ; to bench for to sit ; 
^ false for to falsify ; to path for to walk; to verse for to speak 
of in verse ; and many others. Perhaps the most remarkable is 
where he uses tongue for to talk of, and brain for to think of. In 
" Cymbeline " he says : — 

" 'Tis still a dream ; or else such stuff as madness 
Will tongue, and brain not. . . ." 

• 

3. Absence of Inflexions. — At the present time, we have lost 
almost all the inflexions we once had. We have only one for 
the cases of the noun ; none at all for ordinary adjectives (ex- 
cept to mark degrees) ; a few in the pronoun ; and a few in the 
verb. Hence we can use a word sometimes as one part of 
speech, and sometimes as another. We can say, " The boys had 
a good run;" and "The boys run very well." We can say, 
"The train travelled very fast," where fast is an adverb, modi- 
fying travelled ; and we can speak of "a fast train." We can 
use the phrase, "The very man," where very is an adjective 
marking man; and also the phrase "A very good man," where 
very is an adverb modifying the adjective good. 

4. Function. — It follows that, in the present state of our 
language, when we cannot know to what class a word belongs 
by its look, we must settle the matter by asking ourselves what 
is its function. We need not inquire what a word is ; but we 
must ask what it does. And just as a bar of iron may be used 
as a lever, or as a crowbar, or as a poker, or as a hammer, or as 



WORDS KNOWN BY THEIR FUNCTIONS. 63 

a weapon, so a word may be an adjective, or a noun, or a verb, 
- — just as it is used. 

5. Examples. — When we say, "He gave a shilling for the 
l)ook," for is a preposition connecting the noun book with the 
verb gave. But when we say, " Let us assist them, for our case 
is theirs," the word for joins two sentences together, and is hence 
a conjunction. In the same way, we can contrast early in the 
proverb, "The early bird catches the worm," and in the sentence 
" He rose early." Hard in the sentence " He works hard " is an 
adverb; in the phrase "A hard stone" it is an adjective. Rigid 
is an adverb in the phrase. "Eight reverend;" but an adjective 
in the sentence " That is not the right road." Back is an adverb 
in the sentence " He came back yesterday ; " but a noun in the 
sentence " He fell on his back." Here is an adverb, and where 
an adverbial conjunction ; but in the line— 

" Thou losest here, a Letter where to find," 

Shakespeare employs these words as nouns. The, in ninety-nine 
cases out of a hundred, is an adjective ; but in such phrases as 
" The more, the merrier," it is an adverb, modifying merrier and 
more. Indeed, some words seem to exercise two functions at 
the same time. Thus Tennyson has — 

" Slow and sure comes up the golden year," — 

where slow and sure may either be adverbs modifying comes, or 
adjectives marking year ; or both. This is also the case with 
the participle, which is both an adjective and a verb ; and with 
the gerund, which is both a verb and a noun. 

6. Function or Form ? — From all this it appears that we are 
not merely to look at the form of the word, we are not merely 
to notice and observe ; but we must think — we must ask our- 
selves what the word does, what is its function ? In other 
words, we must always — when trying to settle the class to which 
a word belongs — ask ourselves two questions — 

(i) What other word does it go with *? and 
(ii) What does it do to that word 1 



64 



SYNTAX. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

1. The word Syntax is a Greek word which means arrange- 
ment. Syntax, in grammar, is that part of it which treats of 
the relations of words to each other in a sentence. 

2. Syntax is usually divided into two parts, which are called 
Concord and G-overnment. 

(i) Concord means agreement. The chief concords in grammar are 
those of the Verb with its Subject ; one Noun with another Noun ; 
the Pronoun with the Noun it stands for; the Relative with its 
Antecedent. 

(ii) Government means the influence that one word has upon another. 
The chief kinds of Government are those of a Transitive Verb and 
a Noun ; a Preposition and a Noun. 



I—SYNTAX OF THE NOUN". 

1.— THE NOMINATIVE CASE. 

Rule I. — The Subject of a sentence is in the Nominative 
Case. 

Thus we say, I write ; John writes : and both / and John — the sub- 
jects in these two sentences — are in the nominative case. 

Rule II. — When one noun is used to explain or describe 
another, the two nouns are said to be in Apposition ; and they 
are always in the same case. 



SYNTAX OF THE NOUN. 65 

Thus we find in Shakespeare's Henry V., i. 2. 188 :— 

" So work the honey-bees, 
Creatures that by a rule in Nature teach 
The art of order to a peopled kingdom." 

Here bees is the nominative to work ; creatures is in apposition with 
bees, and hence is also in the nominative case. (Of course, two nouns 
in apposition may be in the objective case, as in the sentence, " We met 
John the gardener. ") 

(i) The words in apposition may be separated from each other, as in 
Cowper's well-known line about the postman : — 

" He comes, the herald of a noisy world." 

Eule III. — The verb to be, and other verbs of a like nature, 
take two nominatives — one before and the other after. 

Thus we find such sentences as — 

(i) General Wolseley is an able soldier. 

(ii) The long-remembered beggar was his guest. 

In the first sentence Wolseley and soldier refer to the same person ; 
beggar and guest refer to the same person ; and all that the verbs is 
and was do is to connect them. They have no influence whatever upon 
either word. When is (or are) is so used, it is called the copula. 



Eule IV. — The verbs become, be-ealled, be-named, live, 
turn-out, prove, remain, seem, look, and others, are of an 
appositional character, and take a nominative case after them 
as well as before them. 

Thus we find : — 

(i) Tom became an architect. 
(ii) The boy is called John, 
(iii) He turned out a dull fellow. 
(iv) She moves a goddess ; and she looks a queen. 
•On examining the verbs in these sentences, it will be seen that they 
do not and cannot govern the noun that follows them. The noun be- 
fore and the noun after designate the same person. 

Eule Y. — A Noun and an Adjective, or a ISToun and a Par- 
ticiple, or a ISToun and an Adjective Phrase,— not syntactically 

E 



66 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

connected with any other word in the sentence, — are put in the 

Nominative Absolute. 

Thus we have : — 

(i) " She earns a scanty pittance, and at night 

Lies down secure, her heart and pocket light." — Cowper. 

(h) The wind shifting, we sailed slowly. 

(hi) "Next Anger rushed, his eyes on fire." — Collins. 

(iv) Dinner over, we went up-stairs. 

The word absolutus means freed; and the absolute case has been freed from, 
and 'is independent of, the construction of the sentence. 

Remarks. — 1. In the oldest English (or Anglo-Saxon), the 
absolute case was the Dative ; and this we find even as late as 
Milton (1608-1674), who says— 

"Him destroyed, 

All else will follow." 

2. Caution! In the sentence, "Pompey, having been de- 
feated, fled to Africa," the phrase having been defeated is at- 
tributive to Pompey, which is the noun to fled. But, in the 
sentence, " Pompey having been defeated, his army broke up," 
Pompey — not being the noun to any verb — is in the nomina- 
tive absolute. Hence, if a noun is the nominative to a verb, 
it cannot be in the nominative absolute. 

Eemarks on Exceptions. 

1. The pronoun It is often used as a Preparatory Nomina- 
tive, or — as it may also be called — a Representative Subject. 
Thus we say, "It is very hard to climb that hill," where it 
stands for the true nominative, to-climb-that-hill. 

2. The nominative to a verb in the Imperative Mood is 
usually omitted. Thus Come along ! = Come thou (or ye) along ! 



SYNTAX OF THE NOUN. 67 



2.— THE POSSESSIVE CASE. 

Eule YI. — When one Noun stands in the relation of an 
attribute to another Noun, the first of these nouns is put in 
the Possessive Case. 

(i) The Possessive Case originally denoted mere possession, as John's 
book ; John's gun. But it has gradually gained a wider reference ; and 
we can say, "The Duke of Portland's funeral," etc. 

(ii) The objective case with of is = the possessive ; and we can say, 
"The might of England," instead of "England's might." 



Eule YII. — When (i) two or more Possessives are in apposi- 
tion, or (ii) when several nouns connected by and are in the 
possessive case, the sign of the possessive is affixed to the 
last only. 

(i) Thus we find : (i) For thy servant David's sake, (ii) Messrs Simp- 
kin & Marshall's house. 

AST The fact is, that Messrs SimpMn-d-Marshall, and other such phrases, 
are regarded as one compound phrase. 

(ii) The sentence, "This is a picture of Turner's," is = " This is a 
picture (one) of Turner's pictures." The of governs, not Turner's, but 
pictures. Hence it is not a double possessive, though it looks like it. 

The phrase, "a friend of mine," contains the same idiom ; only mine is used 
in place of my, because the word friend has been suppressed. 



3.— THE OBJECTIVE CASE. 

1. The Objective Case is that case of a noun or pronoun 
that is " governed by " a transitive verb or by a preposition. 

&3T It is only the pronoun that has a special form for this case. 
The English noun formerly had it, but lost it between the years 1066 
and 1300. 



68 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

2. The Objective Case is the case of the Direct Object; 
the Dative Case is the case of the Indirect Object — and 
something more. 

(i) The Direct Object answers to the question Whom ? or What ? 

(ii) The Indirect Object answers to the question To whom ? To what ? 
or For whom ? For what ? 

3. The object of an active-transitive verb must always be a 
Noun or the Equivalent of a Noun. 



Kule YIIL — The Direct Object of an Active -Transitive 
Verb is put in the Objective Case. 

Thus we read : (i) We met the man (Noun), (ii) We met him 
(Pronoun), (iii) We saw the fighting (Verbal Noun), (iv) I like to 
work (Infinitive), (v) I heard that he had left (Noun clause). 



Rule IX. — Verbs of teaching, asking, making, appoint- 
ing, etc., take two objects. 

Thus we say : (i) He teaches me grammar, (ii) He asked me a 
question, (iii) They made him manager, (iv) The Queen appointed 
him Treasurer. 

&W In the last two instances the objects are sometimes called factitive 
objects. 



Eule X. — Some Intransitive Verbs take an objective case 
after them, if the objective has a similar or cognate meaning 
to that of the verb itself. 

Thus we find : (i) To die the death, (ii) To sleep a sleep, (iii) To 
go one's way. To wend one's way. (iv) To run a race, (v) Dreaming 
dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. 

tfST Such objects are called cognate objects. 



Eule XI. — The limitations of a Verb by words or phrases 
expressing space, time, measure, etc., are said to be in the 



SYNTAX OF THE NOUN. 69 

objective case ; as (i) he walked three miles ; (ii) he travelled 
all night ; (iii) the stone weighed three pounds. 

J83T 1. Because these words limit or modify the verbs to which they 
are attached, they are sometimes called Adverbial Objectives. 

2. The following phrases are adverbial objectives of the same kind : 
(i) They bound him hand and foot, (ii) They fell upon him tooth and 
nail. (iii) They turned out the Turks, bag and baggage. Such 
phrases are rightly called adverbial, because they modify bound, fell, 
and turned; and show how he was bound, how they fell upon him, etc. 

Eemarks on Exceptions. 

1. The same verb may be either Intransitive or Transitive, 

according to its use. Thus — 

Intransitive. Transitive. 

(i) The soldier ran away. (i) The soldier ran his spear into 

the Arab, 
(ii) The man works very hard. (ii) The master works his men too 

hard, 
(iii) We walked up the hill. (iii) The groom walked the horse 

up the hill. 

2. An Intransitive verb performs the function of a Transi- 
tive verb when a preposition is added to it. Thus — 

Intransitive. Transitive. 

(i) The children laughed. (i) The children laughed at the clown, 

(ii) The man spoke. (ii) The man spoke of wild beasts. 

3. The preposition may continue to adhere to such a verb, 
so that it remains even when the verb has been made passive. 

Thus we can say : (i) He was laughed-at. (ii) Whales were spoken-of. 
(iii) Prosecution was hinted-at. And this is an enormous convenience 
in the use of the English language. 



4.— THE DATIVE CASE. 

1. The Dative is the case of the Indirect Object. 

Thus we say : He handed her a chair. She gave it me. 

2. The Dative is also the case which is used with 



70 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

such verbs as be, worth, seem, please, think ( = seem) ; and 
with the adjectives like and near. 

Thus we have the phrases, meseems ; if you please ( = if it please 
you); methought ( = it seemed to me) ; woe is me! and, she is like 
him; he was near us. 

" Woe worth the chase ! woe worth the day 
That cost thy life, my gallant grey ! " 

—"Lady of the Lake." 
"When in Salamanca's cave 
Him listed his magic wand to wave, 

The bells would ring in Notre-Dame." 

— " Lay of the Last Minstrel." 

3. N.B. — It is to be noted that the Dative survives ety- 
mologically (as in meadow from A.S. mced-we, dative of mcedu, 
or as in ichilom and seldom, where the om represents a dative 
case-ending in um, etc.) but not grammatically, so far as 
the present form of the case is concerned. 

Eule XII. — Verbs of giving, promising, telling, showing, 
etc., take two objects ; and the indirect object is put in the 
dative case. 

Thus we say : He gave her a fan. She promised me a book. Tell us 
a story. Show me the picture-book. 

Eule XIII. — When such verbs are turned into the passive 
voice, either the Direct or the Indirect Object may be turned 
into the Subject of the Passive Verb. Thus we can say 
either — 

Direct Object used as Subject. Indirect Object used as Subject. 

(i) A fan was given her. (i) She was given a fan. 1 

(ii) A book was promised me. (ii) I was promised a book. 1 

(hi) A story was told us. (hi) We were told a story. 1 

(iv) The picture-book was shown (iv) I was shown the picture-book. 1 



me. 



1 This has sometimes been called the Retained Object. The words 
fan, etc., are in the objective case, not because they are governed by the 
passive verbs was given, etc., but because they still retain, in a latent 
form, the influence or government exercised upon them by the active 
verbs, give, promise, etc. 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 71 



Eemarks on Exceptions. 

1. The Dative of the Personal Pronoun was in frequent use 
in the time of Shakespeare, to add a certain liveliness and in- 
terest to the statement. 

Thus we find, in several of his plays, such sentences as — 
(i) " He plucked me ope his doublet." 

(ii) " Villain, I say, knock me at this gate, and rap me well." 
(iii) " Your tanner will last you nine year." 
Grammarians call this kind of dative the ethical dative. 

2. The Dative was once the Absolute Case. 

" They have stolen away the body, us sleeping." 

— Wyclif's Bible. 



IL— SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 

1. In our Old English — the English spoken before the coming 
of the Normans, and for some generations after — every adjec- 
tive agreed with its noun in gender, number, and case ; and 
even as late as Chaucer (1340-1400) adjectives had a form for 
the plural number. Thus in the Prologue to the ' Canterbury 
Tales,' he writes — 

" And smale fowles maken melodie," 

where e is the plural inflexion. 

2. In course of time, partly under the influence of the Nor- 
mans and the Norman language, all these inflexions dropped 
off; and there are now only two adjectives in the whole lan- 
guage that have any inflexions at all (except for comparison), 
and these inflexions are only for the plural number. The two 
adjectives that are inflected are the demonstrative adjectives 
this and that, which make their plurals in these (formerly time) 
and those. 

(i) The, which is a broken-down form of that, never changes at all. 

(ii) When an adjective is used as a noun, it may take a plural inflec- 
tion ; as the blacks, goods, equals, edibles, annuals, monthlies, weeklies, etc. 

3. Most adjectives are inflected for comparison. 



72 GRAMMAK OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

4. Every adjective is either an explicit or an implicit predi- 
cate. The following are examples : — 

Adjectives used as Explicit Predicates. 

1. The way was long; the wind was cold. 

2. The minstrel was infirm and old. 

3. The duke is very rich. 

Adjectives used as Implicit Predicates. 

1. We had before us a long way and a cold wind. 

2. The infirm old minstrel went wearily on. 

3. The rich duke is very niggardly. 

5. "When an adjective is used as an explicit predicate, it is 
said to be used predicatively ; when it is used as an implicit 
predicate, it is said to be used attributively. 

Adjectives used predicatively. 

1. The cherries are ripe. 

2. The man we met was very old. 

Adjectives used attributively. 

1. Let us pluck only the ripe cherries. 

2. We met an old man. 

Rule XIV. — An adjective may qualify a noun or pronoun 
predicatively, not only after the verb be, but after such in- 
transitive verbs as look, seem, feel, taste, etc. 

Thus we find : (i) She looked angry, (ii) He seemed weary, (hi) He 
felt better, (iv) It tasted sour, (v) He fell ill. 

Eule XV. — After verbs of making, thinking, considering, 
etc., an adjective may be used factitively as well as predica- 
tively. 

Thus we can say, (i) We made all the young ones happy, (ii) All 
present thought him odd. (iii) We considered him very clever. 
Factitive comes from the Latin facio, I make. 

Eule XVI. — An adjective may, especially in poetry, be used, 
as an abstract noun. 

Thus we speak of " the True, the Good, and the Beautiful ; " " the 
sublime and the ridiculous ; " Mrs Browning lias the phrase, " from the 
depths of God's divine ; " and Longfellow speaks of 

" A band 
Of stern in heart and strong in hand." 



SYNTAX OF THE ADJECTIVE. 73 

Eule XYIL — An adjective may be used as an adverb in 

poetry. 

Thus we find in Dr Johnson the line— 

" Slow rises wortk, by poverty depressed ; " 

and in Scott — ■ 

•• Trip it deft and merrily ; " 

and in Longfellow — 

" The green trees whispered low and mild ; " 

and in Tennyson — 

" And slow and sure comes up the golden year. " 

(i) The reason for this is that in O.E. adverbs were formed from adjectives by 
adding e. Thus brighte vfa.s = brightly, and deej>e= deeply. But in course of 
time the e fell off, and an adverb was just like its own adjective. Hence we still 
have the phrases : "He works hard ; " "Run quick ! " " Speak louder 1 " " Run 
fasti" "Right reverend," etc. 

(ii) Shakespeare very frequently uses adjectives as adverbs, and has such sen- 
tences as : " Thou didst it excellent I " '"Tis noble spoken !" and many more. 

Eule XVIII. — A participle is a pure adjective, and agrees 
with its noun. 

Thus, in Pope — 

" How happy is the blameless vestal's lot, 
The world forgetting, by the world forgot ! " 

where forgetting, the present active participle, and forgot, the past 
passive participle, both agree with vestal (" the vestal's lot " being = the 
lot of the vestal). 

(i) But while a participle is a pure adjective, it also retains one function of a 
verb — the power to govern. Thus in the sentence. "Respecting ourselves, we 
shall be respected by the world," the present participle respecting agrees with 
we, and governs our-°lves. 

Eule XIX. — The comparative degree is employed when 
two things or two sets of things are compared ; the superla- 
tive when three or more are compared. 

Thus we say " James is taller than I ; but Tom is the tallest of the 
three." 

(i) Than is a dialectic form of then. "James is taller ; then I (come).'* 
(ii) The superlative is sometimes used to indicate superiority to all others. 
Thus Shakespeare says, " A little ere the mightiest Julius fell ; " and we use such 
phrases as, "Truest friend and noblest foe." This is sometimes called the 
"superlative of pre-eminence." 

(iii) Double comparatives and superlatives were much used in O.E., and 
Shakespeare was especially fond of them. He gives us such phrases as, "a 
more larger list of sceptres," "more better," "more nearer," "most worst," 
"most unkindest cut of all," etc. These cannot be employed now. 



74 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Rule XX. — The distributive adjectives each, every, either, 
neither, go with singular nouns only. 

Thus we say : (i) Each boy got an apple, (ii) Every noun is in its 
place, (iii) Either book will do. (iv) Neither woman went. 

Either and neither are dialectic forms of other and nother, which 
were afterwards compressed into or and nor. 



Ill— SYNTAX OF THE PRONOUN 

Rule XXL — Pronouns, whether personal or relative, must 
agree in gender, number, and person with the nouns for 
which they stand, but not (necessarily) in case. 

Thus we say: "I have lost my umbrella: it was standing in the 
corner." 

(i) Here it is neuter, singular, and third person, because umbrella is neuter, 
singular, and third person. 

(ii) Umbrella is in the objective case governed by have lost ; but it is in the 
nominative, because it is the subject to its own verb was standing. 



Rule XXII. — Pronouns, whether personal or relative, take 
their case from the sentence in which they stand. 

Thus we say : "The sailor whom we met on the beach is ill." Here 
sailor is in the nominative, and whom, its pronoun, in the objective. 

(i) Whom is in the objective, because it is governed by the verb met in its 
own sentence. "The sailor is ill" is one sentence. "Him (whom = a»d him) 
we met " is a second sentence. 

(ii) The relative may be governed by a preposition, as "The man on whom I 
relied has not disappointed me." 



Rule XXIII. — "Who, whom, and whose are used only of 
rational beings ; which of irrational ; that may stand for 
nouns of any kind. 

(i) Whose may be used for of which. Thus Wordsworth, in the 
'Laodamia,' has— 

"In worlds whose course is equable and pure." 



SYNTAX OF THE PRONOUN. 75 

Rule XXI Y. — The possessive pronouns mine, thine, ours, 
yours, and theirs can only be used predieatively ; or, if used 
as a subject, cannot have a noun with them. 

Thus we say: "This is mine." "Mine is larger than yours." But 
in older English mine and thine are used for my and thy before a noun : 
" Who knoweth the power of thine anger ? " 



Rule XXV. — After such, same, so much, so great, etc 5 
the relative employed is not who, but as. 

Thus Milton has — 

"Tears such as angels weep." 

(i) Shakespeare uses as even after that — 

"That gentleness as I was wont to have." 
This usage cannot now be employed. 



Remarks on Exceptions. 

1. The antecedent to the relative may be omitted. 

Thus we find, in "Wordsworth's " Ode to Duty " — 

" There are A who ask not if thine eye 
Be on them." 

And Shakespeare, in " Othello," iii. 3, 157, has — 

" A Who steals my purse, steals trash." 

And we have the well-known Greek proverb — 

" A Whom the gods love, die young." 

2. The relative itself may be omitted. 

(i) Thus Shelley has the line — 

"Men must reap the things A they sow." 

(ii) And such phrases as, ' ' Is this the book A you wanted ? " are very 
common. 



76 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

3. The word but is often used for who + not. It may hence 
be called the negative-relative. 

Thus Scotfc has — 

" There breathes not clansman of my line 
But ( = who not) would have given his life for mine." 

4. The personal pronouns, when in the dative or objective 
case, are generally without emphasis. 

(i) If we say " Give me your hand," the me is unemphatic. If we say 
" Give me your hand ! " the me has a stronger emphasis than the give, 
and means me, and not any other person. 

(ii) Very ludicrous accidents sometimes occur from the misplacing of 
the accent. Thus a careless reader once read : " And he said, ' Saddle 
me the ass;' and they saddled him." Nelson's famous signal, "Eng- 
land expects every man to do his duty," was once altered in em- 
phasis with excellent effect. A midshipman on board one of H.M.'s 
ships was very lazy, and inclined to allow others to do his work ; and the 
question went round the vessel : " Why is Mr So-and-so like England ?" 
" Because he expects every man to do his duty." 



IV.— SYNTAX OF THE YEEB. 
1.— CONCORD OF VERBS. 

We cannot say I writes, or He or The man write. We always say / write, 
He writes, and The man writes. In other words, certain pronouns and 
nouns require a certain form of a verb to go with them. If the pronoun 
is of the first person, then the verb will have a certain form ; if it is of the 
third person, it will have a different form. If the noun or pronoun is sing- 
ular, the verb will have one form ; if it is plural, it may have another form. 
In these circumstances, the verb is said to agree with its subject. 

All these facts are usually embodied in a general statement, which may 
also serve as a rule. 

Eule XXVI. — A Finite Verb must agree with its subject 
in Number and Person. Thus we say : " He calls," " They 
walk." 

(i) The subject answers to the question Who ? or What ? 
(ii) The subject of a finite verb is always in the nominative case. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 77 

Or and nor are conjunctions which do not add the things mentioned 
to each other, but allow the mind to take them separately — the one 
excluding the other. We may therefore say : — 



Eule XXVII. — Two or more singular nouns that are subjects, 
connected by or or nor, require their verb to be in the singular. 
Thus we say : " Either Tom or John is going." " It was either 
a roe-deer or a large goat ! " 

On the other hand, when two or more singular nouns are connected 
by and, they are added to each other ; and, just as one and one make 
two, so two singular nouns are equal to one plural. We may therefore 
lay down the following rule : — 



Eule XXVIII. — Two or more singular nouns that are sub- 
jects, connected by and, require their verb to be in the plural. 
We say: "Tom and John are going." "There were a roe- 
deer and a goat in the field." 

(i) When two or more singular nouns represent one idea, the verb is 
singular. Thus, in Milton's "Lycidas," we find — 

" Bitter constraint and sad occasion dear 
Compels me to disturb your season due." 

And, in Shakespeare's " Tempest " (v. 104), we read — 

" All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement 
Inhabits here." 

In this case we may look upon the statement as = " A condition which 
embraces all torment," etc. 

(ii) When the verb precedes a number of different nominatives, it is 
often singular. The speaker seems not to have yet made up his mind 
what nominatives he is going to use. Thus, in the well-known passage 
in Byron's " Childe Harold " we have — 

"Ah ! then and there was hurrying to and fro, 
And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress." 

And so Shakespeare, in " Julius Caesar," makes Brutus say, " There is 
tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honour for his valour, and death 
for his ambition." And, in the same way, people say, "Where is my 
hat and stick ? " 



78 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Cautions. — (i) The compound conjunction as well as does not require 
a plural verb, because it allows the mind to take each subject separately. 
Thus we say, "Justice, as well as mercy, allows it." We can see the 
truth of this remark by transposing the clauses of the sentence, and 
saying, "Justice allows it, as well as mercy [allows it]." 

(ii) The preposition with cannot make two singular subjects into one 
plural. "We must say, " The Mayor, with his attendants, was there." 
Transposition will show the force of this remark also : " The Mayor was 
there with his attendants." 



Rule XXIX. — Collective Nouns take a singular verb or 
a plural verb, as the notion of unity or of plurality is upper- 
most in the mind of the speaker. Thus we say : " Parliament 



Eule XXX. — The verb to be is often attracted into the same 
number as the nominative that follows it, instead of agreeing 
with the nominative that is its true subject. Thus we find : 
"The wages of sin is death." "To love and to admire has 
been the joy of his existence." "A high look and a proud 
heart is sin." 

2.— GOVERNMENT OF VERBS. 

Rule XXXI. — A Transitive Verb in the active voice 
governs its direct object in the objective case. Thus we say : 
" I like him ; " " they dislike her." 

The following sub-rules are of some importance : — 

(i) The participle, which is an adjective, has the same governing 
power as the verb of which it is a part — as, " Seeing the rain, I remained 
at home " — where seeing agrees with I as an adjective, and governs 
rain as a verb. 

(ii) The gerund, which is a noun, has the same governing power as 
the verb to which it belongs. Thus we say : " Hating one's neighbour is 
forbidden by the Gospel," where hating is a noun, the nominative to 
is forbidden, and a gerund governing neighbour in the objective. 

Rule XXXII. — Active-transitive Verbs of giving, promis- 
ing, offering, and suchlike, govern the Direct Object in the 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 79 

objective case, and the Indirect Object in the dative. " I 
gave him an apple." " He promises me a book." 

(i) In turning these active verbs into passive, it is the direct object 
that should be turned into the subject of the passive verb ; and we 
ought to .say, "An apple was given me." But custom allows of either 
mode of change; and we also say, "I was given an apple;" "I was 
promised a book." Dr Abbott calls the objectives apple and book 
retained objects, because they are retained in the sentence, even 
although we know that no passive verb can govern an objective case. 

Eule XXXIII. — Such verbs as make, create, appoint, 
think, believe, etc., govern two objects — the one direct, the 
other factitive. Thus we say : " They made him king ; " 
" the king appointed him governor ; " "we thought her a 
clever woman." 

(i) The second of these objectives remains with the passive verb, 
when the form of the sentence has been changed ; and we say, " He 
was made king ; " "he was appointed governor." 

Eule XXXI Y. — One verb governs another in the Infinitive 
Or, 

The Infinitive Mood of a verb, being a pure noun, may be 
the object of another verb, if that verb is active-transitive. 
Thus we say : " I saw him go ; " " we saw the ship sink." 

(i) In these sentences, him and ship are the subjects of go and sink. 
But the subject of an infinitive is always in the objective case. The 
infinitives go and sink have a double face. They are verbs in relation 
to their subjects him and go ; they are nouns in relation to the verbs 
that govern them. 

(ii) An Infinitive is always a noun, whether it be a subject or an 
object. It is (a) a subject in the sentence, " To play football is pleasant." 
It is {b) an object in the sentence, " I like to play football." 

Eule XXXV. — Some Intransitive Verbs govern the Dative 
Case. Thus we have " Methought," " meseerns" " Woe worth 
the day ! " " Woe is me ! " " If you please I " 

(i) Worth is from an old English verb, weorthan, to become. (The 
German form of this verb is werden. ) 



80 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. - 

(ii) Shakespeare even construes the verb look with a dative. In 
"Cymbeline," iii. 5, 32, he has — 

She looks us like 
A thing more made of malice, than of duty. 



3.— MOODS OF VERBS. 

1. The Indicative Mood is the mood of direct assertion or statement. 
The Subjunctive Mood is the mood of assertion also, but -with a modi- 
fication given to the assertion by the mind through which it passes. If 
we use the term dbjective as describing what actually exists independently 
of our minds, and subjective as describing that which exists in the mind 
of the speaker, — whether it really exists outside or not, — we can then 
say that — 

(i) The Indicative Mood is the mood of objective assertion, 
(ii) The Subjunctive Mood is the mood of subjective assertion. 

The Indicative Mood may be compared to a ray of light coming straight 
through the air; the Subjunctive Mood to the effect produced by the water on 
the same ray — the water deflects it, makes it form a quite different angle, and 
hence a stick in the water looks broken or crooked. 

2. The Imperative Mood is the mood of command or of request. 

3. The Infinitive Mood is the substantive mood or noun of the 
Terb. It is always equal to a noun ; it is always either a subject or an 
object ; and hence it is incapable of making any assertion. 

4. The Subjunctive Mood has for some years been gradually dying 
out. Few writers, and still fewer speakers, use it. Good writers are 
even found to say, "If he was here, I should tell him." But a know- 
ledge of the uses of the subjunctive mood is necessary to enable us to 
understand English prose and verse anterior to the present generation. 
Even so late as the year 1817, Jane Austen, one of the best prose-writers 
of last century, used the subjunctive mood in almost every dependent 
clause. Not only does she use it after t/ and though, but after such con- 
junctions as till, until, because, and others. 

Eule XXXVI. — The Subjunctive Mood was used — and 
ought to be used — to express doubt, possibility, supposition, 
consequence (which may or may not happen), or wish, all as 
moods of the mind of the speaker. 



SYNTAX OF THE VERB. 81 

(i) " If thou read this, Caesar, thou mayst live." (Doubt.) 

(ii) " If lie come, I will speak to him." (Possibility.) 

(iii) " Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, 

The wizard note has not been touched in vain." (Supposition.) 

(iv) " Get on your night-gown, lest occasion call us 
And show us to be watchers." (Consequence.) 

(v) " I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her 
ear!" (Wish.) 

ggt In all of the above sentences, the clauses with subjunctives state feelings or 
notions of what may or might be. 

Rule XXXVII. — The Subjunctive Mood, being a subjoined 
mood, is usually dependent on some other clause antecedent 
in thought, and generally also in expression. The antecedent 
clause, which contains the condition, is called the conditional 
clause ; and the clause which contains the consequence of the 
supposition is called the consequent clause. 

(i) If it were so, it was a grievous fault. 
Condition. Consequence. 

(ii) If it were done when 'tis done, 
Condition. 

Then 'twere well it were done quickly. 
Consequence. 

Remarks on Exceptions. 

1. Sometimes the conditional clause is suppressed. Thus we 
can say, " I would not endure such language " [if it were ad- 
dressed to me = conditional clause]. 

2. The conjunction is often omitted. Thus, in Shakespeare's 
play of " Julius Caesar," we find — 

" Were I Brutus, 
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 
"Would ruffle up your spirits." 

Rule XXXVIII. — The Simple Infinitive — without the sign 
to — is used with auxiliary verbs, such as may, do, shall, will, 
etc. ; and with such verbs as let, bid, can, must, see, hear, 
make, feel, observe, have, know, etc. 

F 



82 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(i) Let darkness keep her raven gloss. 

(ii) Bid the porter come. 
(iii) I saw him run after a gilded butterfly, 
(iv) "We heard him cry. 

(v) They made him go, etc., etc. 



Rule XXXIX. — The Gerund is both a noun and a verb. 

As a noun, it is governed by a verb or preposition ; as a 
verb, it governs other nouns or pronouns. 

There are two gerunds — (i) one with to; and (ii) one that 
ends in ing. 

(i) The first is to be carefully distinguished from the ordinary in- 
finitive. Now the ordinary infinitive never expresses a purpose ; the 
gerund with to may do so. Thus we find — 

"And fools who came to scoff remained to pray." 

This gerund is often called the gerundial infinitive. 

(ii) The second is to be distinguished from the present participle in 
ing, and very carefully from the abstract noun of the same form. The 
present participle in ing, as loving, hating, walking, etc., is always an 
adjective, agreeing with a noun or pronoun. The gerund in ing is 
always a noun, and governs an object. " He was very fond of playing 
cricket." Here playing is a noun in relation to of; and a verb govern- 
ing cricket in the objective. In the words walking-stick, frying-pan, etc., 
walking and frying are nouns, and therefore gerunds. If they were ad- 
jectives and participles, the compounds would mean the stick that walks, 
the pan that fries. 

(iii) The gerund in ing must also be distinguished from the verbal 
noun in ing, which is a descendant of the verbal noun in ung. " He 
went a hunting" (where a = the old an or on) ; "Forty and six years 
was this temple in building;" "He was very impatient during the 
reading of the will." In these sentences hunting, building, and read- 
ing are all verbal nouns, derived from the old verbal noun in ung, and 
are called abstract nouns. But if we say, " He is fond of hunting deer; " 
"He is engaged in building a hotel;" "He likes reading poetry," — then 
the three words are gerunds, for they act as verbs, and govern the three 
objectives, deer, hotel, and poetry. 

Rule XL. — The Gerundial Infinitive is frequently con- 
strued with nouns and adjectives. Thus we say : " A house 



SYNTAX OF THE ADVERB — AND PREPOSITION. 83 

to sell or let ; " " Wood to burn ; " " Deadly to hear, and 
deadly to tell ; " " Good to eat." 



V.— SYNTAX OF THE ADVEEB. 

Rule XLL — The Adverb ought to be as near as possible to 
the word it modifies. Thus we ought to say, " He gave me 
only three shillings," and not " He only gave me three shil- 
lings," because only modifies three, and not gave. 

This rule applies also to compound adverbs, such as at least, in like 
manner, at random, in part, etc. 

Eule XLII. — Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other 
adverbs ; but they can also modify prepositions. Thus we 
have the combinations out from, up to, down to, etc. 

In the sentence, " He walked up to me," the adverb up does not 
modify walked, but the prepositional phrase to me. 



YL—SYOTAX OF THE PREPOSITION. 

Eule XLIII. — All prepositions in the English language 
govern nouns and pronouns in the objective case. 

The prepositions save and except are really verbs in the imperative 
mood. 

Eule XLIV. — Prepositions generally stand before the words 
they govern ; but they may, with good effect, come after them. 
Thus we find in Shakespeare — 

" Ten thousand men that fishes gnawed upon." 
" "Why, then, thou knowest what colour jet is of." 

And, in Hooker, with very forcible effect — 

" Shall there be a God to swear by, and none to pray to ? " 

Eule XLV. — Certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives require 
special prepositions. Thus we cannot say, " This is different 
to that," because it is bad English to say " This differs to that." 
The proper preposition in both instances is from. 



84 



GKAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



The following is a list of some of these 
Special prepositions: — 



Absolve from. 

Abhorrence for. 

Accord with. 

Acquit of. 

Affinity between. 

Adapted to (intentionally). 

Adapted for (by nature). 

Agree with (a person). 

Agree to (a proposal). 

Bestow upon. 

Change for (a thing). 

Change with (a person). 

Confer on ( = give to). 

Confer with ( = talk with). 

Confide in ( = trust in). 

Confide to ( = in trust to). 

Conform to. 

In conformity with. 

Comply with. 

Convenient to (a person). 

Convenient for (a purpose). 

Conversant with. 

Correspond with (a person). 

Correspond to (a thing). 

Dependent on (but independent of). 



Derogatory to. 

Differ from (a statement or opinion). 

Differ with (a person). 

Different from. 

Disappointed of (what we cannot 

get). 
Disappointed in (what we have 

got). 
Dissent from. 
Exception from (a rule). 
Exception to (a statement). 
Glad of (a possession). 
Glad at (a piece of news). 
Involve in. 
Martyr for (a cause). 
Martyr to (a disease). 
Need of or for. 
Part from (a person). 
Part with (a thing). 
Profit by. 

Reconcile to (a person). 
Reconcile with (a statement). 
Taste of (food). 
A taste for (art). 
Thirst for or after (knowledge). 



VII.— SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION. 

Rule XLYI. — The Conjunction does not interfere with the 
action of a transitive verb or preposition, nor with the mood or 
tense of a verb. 

(i) This rule is usually stated thus : " Conjunctions generally connect 
the same cases of nouns and pronouns, and the same moods and tenses 
of verbs, as ' We saw him and her,' ' Let either him or me go ! ' " But 
it is plain that saw governs her as well as him ; and that or cannot 
interfere with the government of let. Such a rule is therefore totally 
artificial. 

(u) It is plain that the conjunction and must make two singulars = 
one plural, as " He and I are of the same age." 



Rule XLVII. — Certain adjectives and conjunctions take 



SYNTAX OF THE CONJUNCTION. 85 

after them certain special conjunctions. Thus, such (adj.) 
requires as ; both (adj.), and ; so and as require as ; though, 
yet; whether, or; either, or; neither, nor; nor, nor; or, 

or. The following are a few examples : — 

(i) " Would I describe a preacher such as Paul ! " 

(ii). " Though deep, yet clear ; though gentle, yet not dull." 

Eule XLYIII. — The subordinating conjunction that may be 
omitted. Thus we can say, " Are you sure he is here'?" 
Shakespeare has, " Yet Brutus says he was ambitious 1 " 



86 



THE ANALYSIS OP SENTENCES. 

1. "Words are gregarious, and go in groups. When a group 
of words makes complete sense, it is called a sentence. A 
sentence is not a chance collection of words ; it is a true 
organism, with a heart and limbs. When we take the limbs 
apart from the central core or heart of the sentence, and try to 
show their relation to that core, and to each other, we are said 
to analyse the sentence. The process of thus taking a sen- 
tence to pieces, and naming and accounting for each piece, is 
called analysis. 

(i) Analysis is a Greek word which means breaking up or taking 
apart : its opposite is Synthesis, which means making up or putting 
together. 

(ii) When we examine a sentence, and divide it into its component 
parts, we are said to analyse the sentence, or to perform an act of 
analysis. But when we put words or phrases together to make a 
sentence, we perform an act of composition or of synthesis. 

2. A sentence is a statement made about something, as, 
The horse gallops. 

(i) The something (horse) is called the Subject, 
(ii) The statement (gallops) is called the Predicate. 

3. Every sentence consists, and must consist, of at least two 
parts. These two parts are the thing we speak about and 
what we say about that thing. 

(i) The Subject is what we speak about. 

(ii) The Predicate is what we say about the subject. 

(i) There is a proverb of Solomon which says: "All things are double one 
against another." So there are the two necessarily complementary ideas of even 
and odd ; of right and left; of north and south ; and many more. In language, the 
two ideas of Subject and Predicate are necessarily coexistent ; neither can exist 
without the other ; we cannot even think the one without the other. They are 
the two polei of thought. 



THE ANALYSTS OF SENTENCES. 87 

(ii) Sometimes the Subject is not expressed in imperative sentences, as in " Go !" = 
"Go you! " 

(iii) To make a complete statement, the Predicate must always be expressed. 

4. There are three kinds of sentences : Simple, Compound, 
and Complex. 

(i) A simple sentence contains only one subject and one predicate, 
(ii) A complex sentence contains a chief sentence, and one or 
more sentences that are of subordinate rank to the chief sentence. 

(iii) A compound, sentence contains two or more simple sentences 
of equal rank. 

I. —THE SIMPLE SENTENCE. 

5. A Simple Sentence is a sentence which consists of one 
subject and one predicate. 

(i) A Simple Sentence contains, and can contain, only one finite 
verb. If we say, "Baby likes to dance," there are two verbs in 
this simple sentence. But to dance is not a finite verb ; it is an 
infinitive ; it is practically a pure noun, and cannot therefore be a 
predicate. 

(ii) If we say, " John and James ran off,* the sentence is= " John 
ran off "+ "James ran off." It is therefore a compound sentence 
consisting of two simple sentences, with the predicate of one of them 
suppressed. Hence it is called a contracted compound sentence — 
contracted in the predicate. 

In this case the sentence may be treated as Simple, " James 
and John" forming a Compound Subject to the Predicate 
"ran off." 

FORMS OF SENTENCES. 

6. Sentences differ in the Form which they take. As re- 
gards form they may be classified as follows : — 

(i) Assertive — 

(a) Positive : — The night grows cold. 

(b) Negative : — I am not going. 

Not a drum was heard. 
They caught never a one. 



88 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(ii) Interrogative : — Whom seek ye 1 
(iii) Exclamatory : — How swiftly the river flows ! 
In the cases of Interrogative or Exclamatory sentences, in 
which the usual order of the words is changed for the sake of 
emphasis or effect, the sentences should be put in assertive 
straightforward order for the purpose of analysis, thus : — 

Ye seek whom ? 

The river flows how swiftly ! 

(iv) Imperative : — Sir, look to your manners. 
In imperative sentences the subject is usually omitted. In 
this sentence " Sir " is really a nominative of address, and the 
real subject "you" is not expressed. 

(v) Optative, expressing a "wish or invocation : — 

"God bless us every one ! " 
" Oh, could I flow like thee ! " 

In Greek there is a special mood of the verb, called the 
optative, for expressions of this kind, but in English the verb 
is in the subjunctive. 

Note how the Optative differs from tho merely Assertive. Com- 
pare :— 

God bless us, i.e. May God bless us (Optative) ; and 
God blesses us (Assertive). 

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE. 

7. The Subject of a sentence is what we speak about. 
What we speak about we must name. 

If we name a thing, we must use a name or noun. 
Therefore the subject must always be either — 
(i) A noun ; or 
(ii) Some word or words equivalent to a noun. 

8. There are eight kinds of Subjects — 

(i) A Noun, as, England is our home, 
(ii) A Pronoun, as, It is our fatherland. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 89 

(iii) A Verbal Noun, as, Walking is healthy, 
(iv) A Gerund, as, Catching fish is a pleasant pastime, 
(v) An Infinitive, as, To swim is quite easy. 
(vi) An Adjective, with a noun understood, as, The 

■ prosperous are sometimes cold-hearted, 
(vii) A Quotation, as, "Ay, ay, sir!" burst from a 
thousand throats. 

(viii) A Noun-clause, as, That he was a tyrant is 
generally admitted. 

(a) The verbal noun, as we have seen, originally ended in ling. 

See page 40. 

(b) Catching is a gerund, because it is both a noun (nomin- 

ative to is) and a verb, governing fish in the objective. 

Xote (i) The Subject is sometimes composite — consisting of two or 
more words. 

The house, the homestead, the very fences, all were destroyed. 
To seize my gun and (to) fire was the work of a moment. 
To them his heart, his love, his griefs, were given. 

(ii) The Subject sometimes stands in apposition to "it" or 
"this." Thus in the sentence : — " It is my resolve to succeed," 
the effective subject is * ' to succeed. " 

Similarly in the sentence : — "This ruined him, his inordinate love of riches," the 
effective subjeefe is "His inordinate love of riches." Compare also : — " That was their 
sole reward, the approval of their king." 

In these cases, "it," "this," and "that" are simply temporary subjects, the real 
subject coming afterwards out of its natural order. " It," or any word thus used, 
is called the Provisional Subject. 

(iii) Sometimes, especially in poetry, an unnecessary 01 redundant 
pronoun is put in with the Subject, and may be regarded as forming 
part of it. 

My banks, they are furnished with bees. 

Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep, 
He, like the world, his ready visit pays 
Where fortune smiles. 

9. The Predicate in a sentence is what we say about the 
subject. If we say anything, we must use a saying or telling 
Word. Now a telling word is a verb. 

Therefore the Predicate must always he a verb, or 
some word or words equivalent to a verb. 



90 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

10. There are six kinds of Predicate — 

(i) A Verb, as, God is. The stream runs. 

(ii) " To be " + a noun, as, He is a carpenter. 
(iii) " To be " + an adjective, as, They are idle, 
(iv) " To be M + an adverb, as, The books are there. 

(v) " To be " + a phrase, as, She is in good health. 
(vi) " To be " + a clause or sentence, as, His cry was, 
I die for my country. 

note (i) Only Finite or Complete Verbs can form Predicates. When 
the Verb is incomplete or infinite, as in the case of — 

(a) A Participle, 

(b) An Infinitive, 

it cannot form the Predicate of a sentence except by the addition 
of other completing words. Thus "loving" or "to love" could 
never form a predicate, although "loving," when converted into a 
finite verb by prefixing " was," may form a predicate. 

(ii) The Verb is sometimes modified by an Adverb or Preposition 
which is closely attached to it, and which for the purpose of analysis 
may be regarded as part of the Predicate. 

They agreed to (= accepted) my proposal. 
The subject was well thrashed out ( = debated). 
The pirates stove in (= broke) the cabin-door. 

11. Cautions : — 

(i) There is a large class of verbs known as Copulative 
Verbs, which being connective rather than notional 
in their character, require another word or phrase 
to be associated with them to make the predicate 
complete. Thus : — 

He appears healthy. 

The apprentice became a merchant. 

The girl grew tall. 

The poor creature seems to be dying. 

John stands six feet. 

Note. — Some of these verbs are also used transitively, and then take 
an object like other transitive verbs : — Stand it on the table. 

(ii) The frequently occurring verb " to be " (except in 
the few cases where it means " to exist "), and some 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 91 

other copulative verbs, as, to seem, to become, 
etc., can never form predicates by themselves. 

(hi) Beware of associating two dissimilar verbs as predi- 
cate. Thus in the sentence : "He refused to leave 
the ship," the predicate is not " refused to leave," 
but simply " refused." 

12. When the predicate consists of an active-transitive 
verb, it requires an object after it to make complete sense. 
This object is called either the object or the completion. As 
we must name the object, it is plain that it must always, like 
the subject, be a noun, or some word or w T ords equivalent to a 
noun. 

13. As there are eight kinds of Subjects, so there are eight 
kindp of Objects. These are : — 

(i) A Noun, as, All of us love England. 

(ii) A Pronoun, as, We saw him in the garden. 

(iii) A Verbal Noun, as, We heard the reading of the 
will. 

(iv) A Gerund, as, The angler prefers taking large fish. 

(v) An Infinitive, as, We hate to be idle. 

(vi) An Adjective with a noun understood, as, Good 
men love the good. 

(vii) A Quotation, as, We heard his last "Good-bye, 
Tom ! " 

(viii) A Noun-clause, as, I knew what was the matter. 

Note (i) The words it, this, and that may form Provisional Objects, 
just as they form Provisional Subjects : — 

They consider it infamous to desert. 
This I command, no parley with the foe. 
That he abhors, the sale of flesh and blood* 



92 GKAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(ii) The Object, like the Subject, may consist of an unlimited 
number of these parts of speech. 

At noon the outlaw reached his glen, 
His gathered spoils, his merry men. 

At twelve the poor lad began to learn a trade and (to) help his 
parents. 



14. Verbs of giving, promising, offering, handing, and 
many such, take also an indirect object, which is sometimes 
called the dative : We gave the man a shilling. We offered 
him sixpence. 

15. The following may be regarded as special kinds of 
Objects : — 

(i) A Factitive Object : — 

They made him President. 

Milton did not hesitate to call Spenser a better teacher than 
Socrates or Aquinas. 

It should be noted that the words " made " and 
" call M have a more restricted meaning than 
when followed by ordinary simple objects. 

Compare: — "They made him President" with "They made 
a boat," "Milton . . . Aquinas," with "Call them quickly." 

In the latter cases "made" and "call" have a fuller meaning 
than in the former. 

Note. — Sometimes it may appear as an Adjective. 

Exercise made him strong. 
They painted the house "white. 

(ii) A Cognate Object, in which the Predicate and 
Object are words of kindred meaning : — 

Let me die the death of the righteous. 
He ran his godly race. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 93 

(iii) When an active verb with two objects is changed 
into the passive form, that object which is retained 
while the other becomes the subject is termed the 
Retained Object : — 

A shilling was given the man. 
The door was denied him. 



16. The Subject or the Object must always be either — 

(i) A Noun ; or 
(ii) Some word or words equivalent to a noun. 

A Noun may have attached to it any number of adjectives 
or adjectival phrases. An adjective or adjectival phrase that 
goes with a subject or with an object is called, in Analysis, an 
Enlargement. 

It is so called because it enlarges our knowledge of the subject. 
Thus, if we say, "The man is tired," we have no knowledge of what 
kind of man is spoken of ; but if we say, " The poor old than is tired," 
our notion of the man is enlarged by the addition of the facts that he 
is both poor and old. 



17. There are seven kinds of Enlargements : — 

(i) An Adjective — one, two, or more — That big old 
red book is sold. 

(ii) A Noun (or nouns) in apposition, William the 
Conqueror defeated Harold. 

(iii) A Noun (or pronoun) in the Possessive Case, 
His hat flew off. 

(iv) A Prepositional Phrase, The walk in the fields 

was pleasant. 

(v) An Adjectival Phrase, The boy, ignorant of his 
duty, was soon dismissed. 



94 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(vi) A Participle (a), or Participial Phrase (b) — ■ 
Sobbing and weeping, she was led from the 
room (a). The merchant, having made a fortune, 
gave up business (b). 

(vii) A G-erundial Infinitive — Anxiety to succeed ( = of 
succeeding) wore him out. Bread to eat ( = for 
eating) could not be had anywhere. 

18. It is plain that all these seven kinds of Enlargements 
may go with the Object as well as with the Subject. 

19. An Enlargement, being a word or phrase that goes 
with a noun or its equivalent, must always be an adjective 
or equivalent to an adjective. 

Note (i) An Enlargement may itself be enlarged by the same parts 
of speech as form the primary enlargements. 

(a) The handle of this sword forged by Indians is richly jewelled. 

(b) ThQ Romans crossed a stream fed by a glacier of the Southern Alps. 

The phrases " forged by Indians," and " of the Southern Alps," 
are enlargements of "sword" and "glacier" respectively, which 
are themselves parts of qualifying phrases. 

(ii) A Subject or Object may have an unlimited number of 
enlargements of various kinds : — 

The poor King, an outcast from his own domain, suffering the pangs 
of hunger and stung by bitter reproaches, ended his days in misery. 

Here King is enlarged by — 

(a) An Adjective. 

(b) A Noun in Apposition. 

(c) Two Participial phrases. 



20. The Predicate is always a Verb, standing alone if 
complete, or accompanied by other words if a verb of in- 
complete predication. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 95 

The part of the sentence that goes with the verb is either a 
simple adverb, a compound adverb, or a phrase adverbial 
in its character. 

21. The adverbs or adverbial phrases that go with the predi- 
cate are called, in Analysis, the Extensions of the Predicate. 

22. There are seven kinds of Extensions : — 

(i) An Adverb, as, The time went slowly. 

(ii) An Adverbial Phrase, as, Mr Smith writes now 
and then. 

(iii) A Prepositional Phrase, as, Mr Smith spoke with 
great effect. 

(iv) A Noun Phrase, as, We walked side by side. 

(v) A Participial Phrase, as, The mighty rocks came 
bounding down. 

(vi) A Gerundial Phrase, as, He did it to insult us 

( = for insulting us). 

(vii) An Absolute Infinitive Phrase, as, To tell you 
the truth, I think him very stupid. 

J8®" Under (v) may come also the Absolute Participial Phrase, such 
as, " The clock having struck, we had to go." 

23. Extensions of the predicate are classified in the above 
section from the point of view of grammar ; but they are also 
frequently classified from the point of view of distinction in 
thought. 

In this latter way Extensions are classified as extensions of — 

(i) Time, as, We lived there three years. 

(ii) Place, (a) Whence, as, We came from York. 

(b) Where, as, He lives over the way. 

(c) Whither, as, Go home ! 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(iii) Manner (a) Manner : He treads firmly. 

(b) Degree : She writes better. 

(c) Accompanying circumstances : They went for- 

ward under a heavy fire. 

(iv) Agent : James was represented by his minister, 
(v) Instrument : They ravaged the land with fire and sword. 

(vi) Magnitude (a) Order : He stood first in his class. 

(b) Number : The field measured ten acres. 

(vii) Mood (a) Affirmation : He certainly returned. 

(b) Negation : The enterprise will never succeed. 

Jt® 3 Never is here a more emphatic form of not, 
and therefore comes under the head of Nega- 
tion rather than of Time. 

(c) Doubt : Perhaps you will meet your friend, 
(viii) Cause : The clerk was dismissed for idleness. 

(ix) Purpose : They went abroad to better their condition. 
(x) Condition : Without me ye can do nothing, 
(xi) Concession : With all thy faults, I love thee still. 
Here the sense is obviously "Notwithstanding all thy faults," etc. 



24. 

note (i) Just as a Subject or Object may have an unlimited number 
of Enlargements, so a Predicate may have any number of Exten- 



For three years the widow dwelt quietly in the lonely cottage. Here we have 
three extensions of time, manner, and place respectively. Care should be taken 
to keep the various extensions quite distinct in analysing; the student should 
letter or number them (a), (b), (c), etc., or (1), (2), (3), etc., and state after eaeh 
its kind. 

(ii) Where two or more extensions of the same class appear they 
should be kept distinct. At nightfall, during a heavy snowstorm- 
they wandered forth. 

Here the two extensions of time should be taken separately. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 97 

NOMINATIVE OF ADDEESS. 

25. The Nominative of Address may relate to — 

(a) The Subject : Milton ! thou shouldst be living at this 

hour. 

(b) The Object : I welcome you, good Masters. 

(c) An Extension: We shall pull towards you, Sir 

Knight. 

Or it may be detached : The castle keep, my Lord, I 
hold. 

The Nominative of Address is interjectional in its nature, 
and just as the Interjection is a part of speech standing apart 
from the family formed by the others, so a Nominative of 
Address really forms no part of the logical sentence. Regarded 
as somewhat appositional, it may be placed with that part of 
the sentence to which it specially belongs, or the rule may be 
adopted of placing it in the same column as the Subject, care 
being taken to indicate that it forms no part of the logical 
subject. 

26. The following cautions are of importance : — 

(i) The Noun in an absolute phrase cannot be the 
Subject of a simple sentence. We can say, " The 
train having started, we returned to the hotel. " 
Here we is the subject. 

The phrase " the train having started " is an adverbial phrase 
modifying returned, and giving the reason for the returning. 

(ii) A subject may be compound, and may contain an 
object, as, " To save money is always useful." Here 
the subject is to save money, and contains the 
object money — the object of the verb "to save." 

An object may also contain another object, which ia not the 
object of the sentence. Thus we can say, " I like to save money," 
when the direct object of like is to save, and money is a part only 
of that direct object. 



98 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(iii) An Absolute Participial Phrase (or Nominative 
Absolute) is always an Extension of the Predicate, 
and may express — 

(a) Time : The clock having struck one, we proceeded. 

(b) Cause : Darkness coming 1 on, the wanderers quick- 

ened their pace. 

(c) Circumstances : I crossed the moor, the snow falling' 

heavily. 

(iv) Not usually forms an Extension of the Predicate, 
but it may also form — 

(a) Part of the Subject : Not a drum was heard. (Nega- 

tive Enlargement.) 

(b) Part of the Object : We carved not a line. (Negative 

Enlargement. ) 
They heard never a sound. (Negative Enlargement. ) 

t^ As an Extension of the Predicate, not is usually independent of 
other extensions, as, 

They moved not (Extension of Negative) 

( during the storm (Extension of Time) 
but sometimes it simply negatives another Extension, and must nofr 
be dissociated from it ; as, Not in vain he wore his sandal-shoon. 

(v) There is generally — 

(a) An Extension of Place s There they rested. 
But it is sometimes — 

(b) An Indefinite Extension (a mere Expletive). 
There were twenty present. 

The shadowy and vague character of there is shown by the 
paraphrase " Twenty were present," and also by the fact that in 
translating the sentence into many languages no equivalent would 
be put for " there." 

(vi) Distinguish between various uses of the Infinitive. 

(a) Subject : To quarrel is not my wish. 

(b) Part of the Predicate : He might win the shield. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 99 

(c) Object : They love to wander. 

(d) Extension of the Predicate : She came to learn. 

In this case " to learn " is not an ordinary infinitive, but a ger- 
undial infinitive or infinitive of purpose, and is equivalent to "for 
learning." See p. 40. 

(vii) Care must be taken to distinguish between the 

same word when used as — 

(a) An Adjective, forming part of the Predicate with an 
Intransitive Copulative Verb — 

The king plays well. 
This apple tastes sweet, 

or (b) An Adverb, forming an Extension of the Predicate after a 
Verb— 

The king eats well. 

How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank. 

Students must be very careful to discriminate between these 
cases. Where the word indicates quality, it is adjectival in nature, 
and will form part of the Predicate ; where it indicates manner, it is 
adverbial in nature, and forms an Extension of the Predicate. 

(viii) In the case of qualifying or limiting phrases 
(especially participial phrases), it is sometimes diffi- 
cult to determine whether they are simple Enlarge- 
ments of the Subject or Extensions of the Predi- 
cate. 

Returning then the bolt he drew. 

A widow bird sat mourning for her love. 

In the first sentence "returning" is an enlargement of "he" ; in 
the second sentence mourning 1 does not enlarge " bird," but shows 
how it sat mourning", i.e. sadly, sorrowfully. 

The safest plan in cases of this kind is to determine what principal 
part of the sentence the qualifying or limiting word or phrase is 
most closely connected with. If it is essentially qualifying in nature, 
it is probably an Enlargement of the Subject or Object ; if, on the 
other hand, it expresses some modification of, or condition in respect 
to, the Predicate, it is an Extension of the Predicate. 



LOFC. 



100 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

THE MAPPING-OUT OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. 

27. It is of the greatest importance to get the eye to help the 
mind, and to present to the sight if possible — either on paper 
or on the black-board — the sentence we have to consider. This 
is called mapping-out. 

Let us take two simple sentences : — 

(i) " From the mountain -path came a joyous sound of some person 

whistling. " 
(ii) "In the Acadian land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas, 

Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand-Pre 

Lay in the fruitful valley." 

28. These may be mapped out, before analysing them, in th& 
following way : — 







joyous 




(i)A 


SOUND 


CAME 




: o 




some person whistling- 


the mountain path. 


distant, 


secluded, still. 




little 






little 
(ii) The VILLAGE 


LAY 
distant, secluded, still 








"■"••* 




2, 


&/ '*•• 


the fruitful TOlley, 


Granc 


1-Pr6 


the Acadian land the shores of the Basin, etc. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 



101 



FOEMS OF ANALYSIS. 

29. The sentences may then be analysed in either — 

(a) the Detailed form, 
or (b) the Tabular form. 

(a) The Detailed form is analogous to that adopted for parsing, 
and gives us scope for subdividing the sentence to an unlimited extent, 
and giving the maximum amount of detail. 

(b) The Tabular form does not provide for so much detail, but it 
has the advantage of great clearness, and, as it greatly facilitates the 
examination of an exercise, it is the form usually preferred by public 
examiners. 



30. 



Detailed Analysis. 



(i) a. A sound 


Subject. 


b. joyous 


Adjectival Enlargement of Subject. 


c. of some person whistling 


Prepositional Phrase, Enlargement 




of Subject. 


d. came 


Predicate. 


e. from the path 


Extension of Predicate. Place 




whence. 


f. mountain 


Adjectival Enlargement of e. 


n) a. The village 


Subject. 


6. little 


Adjectival Enlargement of Subject. 


c. distant a 




d. secluded L 


Part of the Predicate. 


e. still J 




/. ofGrand-Pre 


Prepositional Phrase, Enlargement 




of Subject. 


0.1ay 


Predicate. 


h. in the land 


Extension of Predicate. Place 




where. 


i. Acadian 


Adjectival Enlargement of h. 


,;. on the shores 


Extension of Predicate. Place 




where. 


h. of the basin 


Prepositional phrase, enlarging /. 


I. of Minas 


» j ») >> *• 


m. in the valley 


Extension of Predicate. Place 



7i. fruitful 



where. 
Adjectival Enlargement of m, 



102 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

31. Tabular Analysis. 



Subject. 


Enlarge- 

MKNT OF 
SUBJ ECT. 


Predicate. 


Object. 


Enlarge- 
ment OF 
Object. 


Extension 

of 
Predicate. 


A sound 


(a) joyous 
(b) of siime 
person 
whistling 


came 






from the 
mountain 
path {place 
w/tence) 


The village 


(a) little 
(b)of 
Grand -Pre 


lay 

(distant, 
secluded, 
still) 






(a) in the 
Acadian 
land 
{place 
where) 

(b) on the 
shores of I 
the Basin j 
of Minas 
{place 
where) 

(c) in the 
fruitful 
valley 
{place 
where) 



II.— THE COMPLEX SENTENCE. 

32. A Complex Sentence is a statement which contains one 
Principal Sentence, and one or more sentences dependent upon 
it, which are called Subordinate Sentences. There are three 
kinds — and there can be only three kinds — of subordinate 
sentences — Adjectival, Noun, and Adverbial. 

A subordinate sentence is sometimes called a clause. 



33. A Subordinate Sentence that goes with a Noun or 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 103 

Pronoun fulfils the function of an Adjective, is equal to an 
Adjective, and is therefore called an Adjectival Sentence. 

"Darkness, which might be felt, fell upon the city." Here the 
clause, " which-might-be-felt," goes with the noun darkness, belongs 
to it, and cannot be separated from it ; and this sentence is therefore 
an adjectival sentence. 

34. A Subordinate Sentence that goes with a Verb fulfils 
the function of an Adverb, is equal to an Adverb, and is 
therefore called an Adverbial Sentence. 

"I will go whenever you are ready." Here the clause, "whenever 
you are ready," is attached to the verb go, belongs to it, and cannot be 
separated from it ; and hence this sentence is an adverbial sentence. 

35. A Subordinate Sentence that forms the Subject of a 
Predicate, or the Object, or that is in apposition with a noun, 
fulfils the function of a Noun, and is therefore called a Noun 
Sentence. 

" He told me that his cousin had gone to sea." Here the clause 
"his cousin had gone to sea," is the object of the transitive verb told. 
It fulfils the function of a noun, and is therefore a noun sentence. 

36. An Adjectival Sentence may be attached to — 

(i) The Subject of the Principal Sentence ; or to 
(ii) The Object of the Principal Sentence ; or to 
(iii) Any Noun or Pronoun. 

(i) The book that-I-bought is on the table : to the subject, 
(ii) I laid the book-I-bought on the table : to the object, 
(iii) The child fell into the stream that-runs-past-the-mill : to the 
noun stream — a noun in an adverbial phrase. 

37. Note. — (i) As may in certain cases be regarded as a 

relative introducing an Adjectival Sentence. In 
such cases it is usually a correlative of such or 
same. 

I never saw such fish as he caught in the Avon. 
This is the same bag as you gave me last year. 



104 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(ii) But in certain cases may be taken as a negative rela- 
tive introducing an Adjectival Sentence. 

(a) There is no man here but loves you. 
This= " There is no man here who does not love you." 

(b) " No land but listens to the common call." 
"But" is equivalent to " which does not." 

38. An Adverbial Sentence may be attached to — 

(i) A Verb ; 

(ii) An Adjective ; or to 

(iii) An Adverb. 

(i) To a Verb. It does not matter in what position the verb is. 
It may be (a) the Predicate, as in the sentence, "I walk when I 
can." It may be (b) an Infinitive forming a subject, as, " To get up 
when one is tired is not pleasant." It may be (c) a participle, as in 
the sentence, " Having dined before be came, I started at once." 
(ii) To an Adjective. "His grief was such that all pitied him." 
Here the clause " that all pitied him " modifies the adjective such. 

(iii) To an Adverb. "He was so weak that he could not stand." 
Here the clause "that he could not stand" modifies the adverb so, 
which itself modifies the adjective weak. 

39. Just as there are many classes of Adverbs, so there are 
many different kinds of Adverbial Sentences. 

(i) Time. I will go, when you return, 
(ii) Place. Where the bee sucks, there suck I. 
(iii) Manner. He strode, as though he were in pain, 
(iv) Degree. I spoke as loudly as I could (speak), 
(v) Proportion. The sooner you complete your 

task the sooner you can leave, 
(vi) Condition. If you stand by me, I will oppose 

him. 
(vii) Concession — Provided this is done, I will consent, 
(viii) Cause. Avoid him, because he is dishonest. 
(ix) Effect or Consequence. I carefully tended him ; 

consequently the wound soon healed, 
(x) Purpose. He worked very hard, for he wished 
to do well. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES 105 

Cautions : — 

(i) In nearly every case the word introducing the ad- 
verbial sentence, as when, -where, if, etc., helps 
us to recognise it, but occasionally there is no 
introductory word, and we must judge by the 
sense alone. 

In the sentence — 

" Pass tliat line, and I fire upon you," 
it is evident that the first clause is Adverbial, and that the real 
meaning would be accurately expressed by the form ' ' If you pass 
that line," etc. 

(ii) 

"Ye meaner fowl, give place, 
lam all splendour, dignity, and grace." 
Here the second sentence is Adverbial to the first, and sense 
demands "for," "because," or "since," as a connecting word. 

(iii) Avoid the mistake of calling a sentence Adverbial 
simply because it begins with an adverb. 
"First (he) loves to do, then loves the good he does." 
The second sentence is not adverbial, bxxt co-ordinate with the 
first. 

40. Adjectival and Adverbial Sentences are easily recognised 
from the fact that they have no complete meaning in them- 
selves apart from the Principal Sentence to which they are 
attached. Of some Principal Sentences — as, e.g., those begin- 
ning with who, which, etc. — the same thing may be said, but 
in the vast majority of cases a Principal Sentence is independent 
in sense and self-contained in meaning. 

Take two of the sentences given above. 

1 ' Which might be felt. " (Adjectival. ) 
" When I can." (Adverbial. ) 

Their incompleteness is at once perceived. Their function is 
to qualify, extend, modify, or limit the master sentence to 
which they are attached ; they are distinctly subordinative. 

The subordinate character of Noun-sentences is best per- 
ceived when they are introduced by their ordinary connective 
"that"; in other cases their true nature maybe recognised 
from their relationship to the principal sentence. 



106 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

41. A Noun Sentence may be — 

(i) The Subject of the Principal Sentence ; or 

(ii) The Object of the main verb \ or 

(iii) The Nominative after is ; or 

(iv) In Apposition with another Noun. 

(i) " That-he-is-better cannot be denied": the subject. Here 
the true nominative is that. " That cannot be denied." What? 
" That = he is better." (From usage that in such sentences acquires 
the function and force of a conjunction. ) 

(ii) " I heard that-he-was-better : " the object. 

(iii) "My motive in going was that-I-might-be-of-use " : nomina- 
tive after was. 

(iv) "The fact that-he-voted-against-his-party is well known": 
in apposition with fact. 

Impersonal Construction — 

' And methought, while she liberty sang, 
'Twas liberty only to hear. 
" 'Twas-liberty-only-to-hear " is a Noun sentence, subject to the 
impersonal verb "methought," and forming with it a principal 
sentence. 

42. Any number of Subordinate Sentences may be attached 

to the Principal Sentence. The only limit is that dictated by 

a regard to clearness, to the balance of clauses, or to good taste. 

The best example of a very long sentence, which consists entirely 
of one principal sentence and a very large number of adjective 
sentences, is "The House that Jack built." "This is the house 
that- Jack-built. " " This is the malt that-lay-in-the-house-that- Jack- 
built," and so on. 

Co-ordinate Subordinate Sentences. Two or more subor- 
dinate sentences of the same kind, may be attached to the 
same principal sentence. 

Type of the wise, who soar but (who) never roam. 
If the day be fine and (if) I am free, I will go over the common. 
John knew that the farmer had cut his corn and (that he had) 
stacked it. 

In the first sentences we have two Adjectival sentences, subordin- 
ate to the principal and co-ordinate with one another. In the other 
sentence we have Adverbial and Noun-sentences of a corresponding 
character. The words within parentheses are understood and 
should be shown in your analysis. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 107 

43. Principal and Subordinate. The same sentence may- 
be subordinate to a principal sentence, and at the same time 
principal to another sentence. 

The man who hesitates when danger is at hand, is lost. 

The sentence "who hesitates" is adjectival to the principal 
sentence, and principal to "when danger is at hand." 

The sentence would not be properly analysed unless its twofold 
character and relationship were fully shown. 

Compare : — Tell her that wastes her time and me, 
That now she knows, 
When I resemble her to thee, 
How sweet and fair she seems to be. 

44. Connectives : — 

(i) Care must be taken to associate introductory and 
connective -words with their proper sentences ; 
otherwise confusion will result and the nature 
of the sentences may be misunderstood. 

Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules 
Passions, desires, and fears, is more a king. 

The Principal sentence here is " Yet he is more a king." 

Thus, while I ape the measure wild 
Of tales that charmed me as a child, 
Rude though they be, still with the chime 
Return the thoughts of early time. 

"Thus " in the first line introduces the principal sentence " Still 
r . . time." 

Note the inversion in "Rude though they be," and remember 
that Inversions are very common in poetry. 

CAUTIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX 

SENTENCES. 

45. (i) Find out, first of all, the Principal Sentence. 

(ii) Secondly, if the sentence is complicated or of 
more than average difficulty, look out the finite 
verbs ; these are the kernels of the various sen- 
tences ; remember that each finite verb means 
a sentence. When you are sure of your verbs 
you will be able to connect with each its sub- 
ject, object, and extensions. 



108 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(iii) Thirdly, look for the sentences, if any, that attach, 
themselves to the Subject of the Principal Sen- 
tence. 

(iv) Fourthly, find those sentences, if any, that belong 
to the Object of the Principal Sentence, or to 
any other Noun or Pronoun in it. 

(v) Fifthly, look for the subordinate sentences that 
are attached to the Predicate of the Principal 
Sentence. 

When a subordinate sentence is long, quote only the first and last 
words, and place dots .... between them. 

46. The following Cautions are necessary : — 
(i) A connective may be omitted. 

In Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," Isabella says — 

"I have a brother is condemned to die." 

Here who is omitted, and "who . . . die" is an adjectival sen- 
tence qualifying the object brother. 

(ii) Do not be guided by the part of speech that in- 
troduces a subordinate sentence. Thus : — 

(a) A relative pronoun may introduce a noun sentence, as, "I do 
not know who-he-is " ; or an adjectival sentence, as, " John, who- 
was-a-soldier, is now a gardener." 

(b) An adverb may introduce a noun sentence, as, "I don't 
know where it has gone to;" or an adjectival sentence, as, "The 
spot where he lies is unknown." In the sentence, "The reason why 
so f-ew marriages are happy is because young ladies spend their time 
in making nets, not in making cages " — the subordinate sentence 
" why . . . happy" is — though introduced by an adverb — in appo- 
sition to the noun reason, and is therefore a noun sentence. 

(iii) It is sometimes difficult to decide whether a given 

sentence is Adjectival or Noun. 

Whoever first reaches the fort gains the prize. 
I will reward whoever first reaches the fort. 

In these sentences some would prefer to regard the subordinate 
sentence as qualifying "he" or "him," and would class them as 
adjectival, but, inasmuch as they stand in the one case for subject 
and in the other for object, it is preferable to take them as noun 
sentences. 

We speak that we do know. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 



109 



Here, instead of taking "that we do know " as a noun sentence, it 
is better to split up " that " (a compound relative) into "that which " 
and take "which we do know " as an Adjectival sentence. 

THE MAPPING-OUT OF COMPLEX SENTENCES. 
47. Complex Sentences should be mapped out on the same 
principles as Simple Sentences. Let us take a sentence from 
Mr Morris's " Jason " : — 

* ' And in his hand he bare a mighty bow, 
No man could bend of those that battle now." 
This sentence may be drawn up after the following plan : — 



He 



his hand 

.2 1 
bare 



a mighty 
bow 



no man could bend 



o 
those 



battle now. 

(The single line indicates a preposition ; the double line a con- 
junction or conjunctive pronoun. ) 

48. The larger number of subordinate sentences there are, 
and the farther away they stand from the principal sentence, 
the larger will be the space that the mapping-out will cover. 
Let us take this sentence from an old Greek writer : — 

' ' Thou art about, king ! to make war against men who wear 
leathern trousers, and have all their other garments of leather ; who 
feed not on what they like, but on what they can get from a soil 
that is sterile and unkindly ; who do not indulge in wine, but drink 
water ; who possess no figs, nor anything else that is good to eat." 
This would be set out in the following way : — 
Thou art about . . . against men 
o 

(i) wear . . . trousers 
(ii) have . . . leather 
(iii) feed not on that 

II 

(a) they like 



110 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



(iv) feed on that 



(b) they can get from a soil 



(b 1 ) is sterile and unkindly 
(v) do not . . . wine 
(vi) drink water 
(vii) possess no figs 
(viii) possess not anything else 



(c) is good to eat. 

49. Sentences may also be pigeon-holed, or placed in marked- 
off spaces or columns, like the following : — 

"Thro' the black Tartar tents he passed, which stood 
Clustering like bee-hives on the low black strand 
Of Oxus, where the summer floods o'erflow 
When the sun melts the snow in high Pamir." 



Sentences. 


Kind of 

xSentence. 


Subject. 


Enlarge- 
ment. 


Predi- 
cate. 


Exten- 
sion. 


Object. 


A. He passed 
through the 
black Tartar 
tents 

(a) which clus- 
tering like 
bee - hives 
stood on the 
strand of 
Oxus, 

(b) [intheplace] 
which the 
floods o'er- 
flow 

(c) when . . . 
melts 


A. Prin. 

sentence. 

(a) Adj. 
sen- 
tence 
to A. 

(b)Adj. 
sent, 
to 

place 
under- 
stood 

(c) Adv. 

sent, 
t >o'er- 
Jlow 


He 

which 

floods 
the sun 


cluster- 
ing 

the sum- 
mer 


passed 
stood 

o'erflow 
melts 


thro' the 
tents 

on the 
low 
black 
strand 

when in 
high 
Pamir 


(which) 
snow 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. Ill 

50. There is a kind of Continuous Analysis, which may 
often — not without benefit — be applied to longer passages, and 
especially to passages taken from the poets. For example : — 

"Alas ! the meanest herb that scents the gale, 
The lowliest flower that blossoms in the vale 
Even where it dies, at spring's sweet call renews 
To second life its odours and its hues." 

1. Alas ! an interjection, with no syntactical relation to any word 

in the sentence. 

2. the meanest, attributive or enlargement to 3. 

3. herb, Subject to 4. 

4. renews, Predicate to 3. 
A-l 5. odours and hues, Object to 4. 

6. at . . . call, Extension of renews, to 4. 

7. to . . . life, Extension of renews, to 4. 

8. the lowliest, attributive or enlargement to 9. 
r 9. flower, Subject to 10. 

10. renews, Predicate to 9. 

11. odours and hues, Object to 10. 

12. at . . . call, Extension to 10. 

13. to . . . life, Extension to 10. 

(14. that, Subject to 15 and connective to 3. 
15. scents, Predicate to 14. 
16. gale, Object to 15. 

{17. that, Subject to 18 and connective to 9. 
18. blossoms, Predicate to 17. 
19. in the vale, Extension to 18. 

'20. even, Adverb modifying 21. 

21. where it dies, Extension to 18. 

22. it, Subject of 23. 
^23. dies, Predicate of 22. 

Ill— THE COMPOUND SENTENCE. 

51. A Compound Sentence is one which consists of two 
or more Simple Sentences packed, for convenience' sake, into 
one. 

Thus, in the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," Sir Walter Scott writes : — 

" The way was long, the wind was cold, 
The minstrel was infirm and old." 

He might have put a full stop at long- and at cold, for the sense ands 



112 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

in these places, and, grammatically, the two lines form three 
separate and distinct sentences. But because in thought the three 
are connected, the poet made one compound sentence out of the three 
simple sentences. 

52. A Compound. Sentence may be contracted. 

(i) If we say, " John jumped up and ran off, the sentence is = 
"John jumped up"+"John ran off." It is therefore a compound 
sentence consisting of two simple sentences, but, for convenience 
sake, contracted in the subject. 

It may be taken as a Compound Contracted Sentence, and should 
be analysed as two connected sentences. 

Compare : — And out again I curve and flow 
To join the brimming river, 
(ii) In the sentence, " Either a knave or a fool has done this," 
the sentence is contracted in the predicate for the purpose of avoid- 
ing the repetition of the verb has done. 

(iii) In "The troops caught, and the King executed the rebels," 
the sentence is contracted in the object, "the rebels" being the 
object of both sentences. 
(iv) Sometimes both Subject and Predicate are omitted, as — 
1 ' Who grewest not alone in power 

And knowledge ; but from hour to hour 
In reverence and in charity. " 
Here "who grewest " must be inserted after " but." 

(v) Some sentences require modification or addition before they 
can be satisfactorily analysed. 

' ' No land but listens to the common call, 
And in return receives supply from all. " 
This may be rendered 

There is no land | which listens not to the common call, | 
And which in return receives not supply from all. " 
Alterations, however, should never be made unless they are un- 
avoidable. 

CO-ORDINATE SENTENCES. 

53. The Principal Co-ordinate Sentences of a Compound 
Sentence are connected in various ways by different classes of 
Conjunctions. The relationship of a sentence to a co-ordinate 
one preceding it is either — 

(a) Copulative or continuative. 

(b) Disjunctive. 

(c) Adversative. 

(d) Illative. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 113 

54. A Copulative Sentence is so connected with a preceding 
one that the idea expressed by it agrees with or simply carries 
further the thought going before. 

Each change of many-coloured life he drew, 
Exhausted worlds, and then imagined new. 
The connectives of copulative sentences are : And, also, likewise, 

moreover, further, furthermore ; and correlatives such as : both — 

and ; not merely — but, etc. 

note (i) The sense of the sentences and their relationship to one 
another must be the chief guide in deciding the nature of the con- 
nection. In many cases the connecting word in itself is mis- 
leading. 

We met a man at the gate, who told us the way. 
Here the function of the sentence "who told," etc., is not to 
qualify the preceding sentence, but to express an additional fact, 
which is co-ordinate with the preceding. Who = and he, and is 
really copulative. 

(ii) He was not at home, which was a great pity. 
"Which" does not introduce a subordinate qualifying sentence, 
but is really copulative, introducing a co-ordinate sentence. It is 
equivalent to " and this." 

(iii) Nor and neither, when they are equivalent to " are not," are 
copulative. 

The enemy will not fight, nor will they even prepare for battle. 
They refused to pay, neither did they offer to explain. 

(iv) While and whilst are sometimes only copulative — 

"The greater number laid their foreheads in the dust, whilst a 
profound silence prevailed over all." 

The second sentence is noway subordinate to the first ; it is not 
used to modify the first adverbially in regard to time, but to 
introduce a sentence of equal rank, the two sentences being 
co-ordinate. 

(v) Sometimes the connective is entirely omitted, but the logical 
connection of the sentences shows that the second is co-ordinate with, 
and stands in copulative connection with, the first. 

Her court was pure ; her life serene ; 

God gave her peace ; her land reposed. 

55. A Disjunctive Sentence is a sentence which implies 
exclusion, or presents an alternative to the one before it. 

Neither a borrower nor a lender be. 

The breath of heaven must swell the sail, 

Or all the toil is lost. 



114 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

The connectives of disjunctive sentences are : Either, or ; neither, 
nor ; and sometimes " else " and "otherwise." 

56. An Adversative Sentence is one which expresses an 
idea in opposition to or in contrast with that of a pre- 
ceding one. 

To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given ; 
But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven. 

The connectives of adversative sentences are : But, however, never- 
theless, notwithstanding, only, still, yet ; and such correlatives as : 
on the one hand — on the other hand, now — then. 

note. — Sometimes the connective is not expressed : 

They resent your honesty for an instant ; they will thank you for 
it always. 

57. An Illative Sentence expresses a reason or inference in 

reference to one before it. Illative sentences may be — 

(a) Illative Proper : when the idea expressed is a natural inference 

from or implied consequence of what is previously expressed. 

The leaves are falling ; therefore the swallows will soon be gone. 

(b) Causative : when the idea expressed forms the grounds of a 

certain inference expressed in the preceding sentence. 

The swallows will soon be gone ; for the leaves are falling. 
The connectives are (a) Illative Proper : Therefore, hence, so, con- 
sequently, etc. 
(b) Causative : For. 

Caution. — Great care is necessary in distinguishing be- 
tween an Illative Sentence and an Adverbial Sentence of 
Consequence. 

Thus in the sentence, The leaves are falling ; therefore the swallows 
will soon be gone, the second sentence is a fair inference from, but not 
a necessary consequence of, the first, and is an Illative Sentence. 

Whereas in the sentence, The leaves are falling ; therefore the trees 
will soon be bare, the second sentence is a necessary consequence of 
the first, and is an Adverbial Sentence of Effect or Consequence. 

The student may draw for himself a corresponding distinction be- 
tween 

The swallows will soon be gone ; for the leaves are falling, 
and 

The trees will soon be bare ; for the leaves jare falling. 



THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 115 

58. Note. — (i) In some cases an introductory "for" is 

simply a preposition, and the sentence is neither Illative 

nor Adverbial. 

For pathless marsh and mountain cell 
The peasant left his lonely shed. 

(ii) The connection in the following is exceptional : — 

And out again I curve and flow- 
To join the brimming river ; 

For men may come, and men may go, 
But I go on for ever. 

"For men may come" is neither an Illative nor an Adverbial 
Sentence, but a co-ordinate sentence, copulative to the preceding 
ones. 

In Illative Sentences the connective is very rarely omitted, but 
examples are not unknown. 

Milton ! thou shouldst be living at this hour : 
England hath need of thee ; she is a fen 
Of stagnant waters. 

The second and third sentences are in illative relationship to the 
first ; they give the grounds of the first statement, and might fitly 
begin with for. 

PARENTHETICAL SENTENCES. 

59. Sometimes sentences are interposed in a way that com- 
plicates the analysis. 

These are the very people who you thought were lost. 

Here ' ' who were lost " is really a noun sentence to its principal 
"you thought"; but it is an adjectival sentence to the real prin- 
cipal " These are the very people. " ' ' You thought " is therefore best 
taken as a parenthetical sentence, having a principal relationship to 
" who were lost." 

In other cases the relationship of the interposed sentence to the 
rest of the sentence is less clear. 

Then I stood up — and I was scarcely conscious of my surroundings 
— and fired my gun. 

The interposed sentence may be regarded as principal and co- 
ordinate with the other two, but on account of its loose relationship 
it is better taken as simply " parenthetical " 



WORD-BUILDING AND DERIVATION. 

1. The primary element — that which is the shortest form — 
of a word is called its root. Thus tal (which means number) is 
the root of the words tale and tell 

2. The stem is the root + some modification. Thus love 
( = lov + e) is the stem of lov. 

3. It is to the stem that inflexions are added, and thus to 
love we add d for the past tense. 

4. If to the root we add a suffix, then the word so formed is 
called a derivative. Thus by adding ling to dar ( = dear), 
we make darling. 

5. In general, we add English prefixes and English suffixes 
to English words ; but this is not always the case. Thus we 
have cottage, where the Latin ending age is added to the Eng- 
lish word cot; and covetousness, where the English ending 
ness is added to the Latin word covetous. Such words are 
called hybrids. 

6. "When two words are put together to make one, the one 
word so made is called a compound. 

7. The adding of prefixes or of suffixes to words, or the 
making one word out of two, is called word-formation. 

COMPOUND NOUNS. 

8. Compound Nouns are formed by the addition of : — 
(i) Noun and Noun, as — 

Bandog ( = bond-dog). Brimstone ( = burn-stone). 

Bridal ( = bride-ale). Bylaw ( = law for a by or town). 



COMPOUND ADJECTIVES. 



117 



Daisy ( = day's eye). 

Evensong. 

Garlic (= gar-leek = spear-leek 

O.E. gar, spear). 
Gospel ( = God's spell = story). 
Housetop. 

Huzzy ( = housewife). 
Icicle ( = is-gicel = ice-jag). 



Lapwing ( = leap-wing). 
Nightingale ( = night-singer). 
Orchard ( = ort-y ard = wort-yard, i.e., 

herb -garden). 
Stirrup ( = stig-rap = rising rope). 
Tadpole (= toad-head. Pole = poll, a 

head, as in poll-tax). 
Wednesday ( = Woden's day). 



(ii) Noun and Adjective, as — 

Blackbird. Midnight. 

Freeman. Midsummer. 



SW Black'bird has the accent on Mack, and is one word 
black 1 bird'. 



Quicksilver. 

Twilight ( = two lights). 
A black'bird need not be a 



(iii) Noun and Verb, as- 

Bakehouse. 

Cutpurse. 

Godsend. 



Grindstone. 
Pickpocket. 
Pinfold. 



(iv) Noun and Adverb, as offshoot, 
(v) Noun and Preposition, as afterthought, 
(vi) Verb and Adverb, as — 
Castaway. 



Welfare. 



Drawback. 
Farewell. 



Spendthrift. 

Wagtail. 

Washtub. 



Income. 
Welcome. 



COMPOUND ADJECTIVES. 



9. There are in the language a great many compound adjec- 
tives, such as heart-whole, sea-sick, etc.; and these are formed 
in a large number of different ways. 

Compound adjectives may be formed In the following ways : — - 

(i) Noun + Adjective, as purse-proud, wind-swift, way-weary, sea- 
green, lily-white. 

(ii) Noun + Present Participle, as ear -piercing, death-boding, heart- 
rending, spirit-stirring, sea-faring, night-walking, home-keeping. 

(iii) Noun + Passive Participle, as moth-eaten, worm-eaten, tempest- 
tossed, way- laid, forest-born, copper-fastened, moss-clad, sea-girt. 

(iv) Adverb + Present Participle, as far-darting, everlasting, high- 
stepping, well-meaning, long-suffering, far-reaching, hard-working. 

(v) Adverb + Passive Participle, as high-born, "ill-weaved," well-bred, 
thorough-bred, high-strung, ill-pleased. 



118 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

(vi) Noun + Noun + ed, as hare-brained, dog-hearted, beetle-headed, 
periwig-pated, club-footed, lily-livered, trumpet-tongued, eagle-eyed. 

(vii) Adjective + Noun + ed, as evil-eyed, grey-headed, thin-faced, 
empty-headed, tender-hearted, thick-lipped, two-legged, three-cornered, 
four-sided, high-minded, bald-pated. 

(viii) Noun + Noun, as bare-foot, lion-heart, iron-side. 

(ix) Adverb + Noun + ed, as down-hearted, under-handed. 

COMPOUND VERBS. 

10. There are not many compound verbs in the English 
language. The few that there are are formed thus : — 

(i) Verb and Noun, as — 

Backbite. Hamstring. Hoodwink. 

Browbeat. Henpeck. Kiln -dry. 

(ii) Verb and Adjective, as— 

Dumfound. Fulfil ( = fill full). Whitewash, 

(iii) Verb and Adverb, as — 
Doff ( = do off). Dout ( = do out). Cross-question. 

Don ( = do on). Dup ( = do up). Outdo. 

THE FORMATION OF ADVERBS. 

11. Adverbs are derived from Nouns, from Adjectives, from 
Pronouns, and from Prepositions. 

a. Adverbs derived from Nouns are either : (i) Old Posses- 
sives, or (ii) Old Datives, or (iii) Compounds of a Noun and 
a Preposition : — 

(i) Old) Possessives : Needs = of need, or of necessity. The Calendrer 
says to John Gilpin about his hat and wig — 

" My head is twice as big as yours, 
They therefore needs must fit." 

Of the same class are : always, nowadays, betimes. 

(ii) Old Datives. These are seldom and the old-fashioned whilom 
( = in old times). 

(iii) Compounds: anon = (in one moment), abed ( = on bed) asleep, 
aloft, abroad, indeed, of a truth, by turns, perchance, perhaps. 

b. Adverbs derived from Adjectives are either : (i) Old 
Possessives, or (ii) Old Datives, or (iii) Compounds of an 

Adjective and a Preposition : — 

(i) Old Possessives: else (ell-es, possessive of aZ = other), unawares, 
once (=ones), twice, thri«e, etc. 



PREFIXES. 



119 



(ii) Old Datives. The old English way of forming an adverb was 
simply to use the dative case of the adjective — which ended in e. Thus 
we had deepe", brighte, for deeply and brightly. Then the e dropped 
away. Hence it is that there are in English several adverbs exactly 
like adjectives. These are : fast, hard, right (in " Right Reverend "), 
far, ill, late, early, loud, high, etc. 

(iii) Compounds of an Adjective and a Preposition : on high, in 
vain, in short, at large, of late, etc. 

c. Adverbs derived from Pronouns come from the pronominal 
stems : who, the (or this), and he. The following is a table, 
and it is important to note the beautiful correspondences : — 



Pronominal 
Stems. 


Place 
In. 


Place 
To. 


Place 
From. 


Time 
In. 


Manner. 


Cause. 


Wh-o 


Whe-re 


Whi-ther 


Whe-nce 


Whe-n 


Ho-w 


Wh-y 


Th-e or th-is 


The-re 


Thi-ther 


The-nce 


The-n 


Th-us 


Th-e 


He 


He-re 


Hi-ther 


He-nce 









(i) How and why are two forms of the same word — the instrumental 
case of who. How = in what way ? Why = with what reason ? 

(ii) The, in the last column, is the adverbial the (A.S. thy) before a 
comparative. It is the instrumental case of that (A.S. thaet). "The 
more, the merrier "= by that more, by that merrier. That is, the 
measure of the increase in the number is the measure of the increase in 
the merriment. 



d. Compound Adverbs are formed by adding together — 
(i) Noun and Noun, as lengthways, endways, 
(ii) Noun and Adjective, as — 

Always. Head-foremost. Otherwise. 

Breast-high. Meanwhile. Sometimes, 

(iii) Preposition and Noun, as Aboveboard, outside, 
(iv) Adverb and Preposition, as — 

Hereafter. Therein. Whereupon. 



PKEFIXES AND SUFFIXES. 

12. The Prefixes used in our language are of English, French, 
Latin, and Greek origin. 

(i) French is only a modified Latin. Hence French prefixes fall 
naturally under Latin prefixes, as the one is only a form of the other. 



120 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

13. English Prefixes are divided into Inseparable and 
Separable. Inseparable Prefixes are those that have no mean- 
ing by themselves and cannot be used apart from another word. 
Separable Prefixes may be used and are used as independent 
Avords. 

14. The following are the most important 

English. Inseparable Prefixes : — 

1. A (a broken-down form of O.E. an = on), as — 

Abed. Aloft ( = in the lift or sky). A-building. 

Aboard. Away. Athwart. 

2. Be (an O.E. form of by), which has several functions : — 

(i) To add an intensive force to transitive verbs, as — 

Bedaub. Beseech Besmear. 

Besprinkle. ( = beseek). Besmirch. 

(ii) To turn intransitive verbs into transitive, as — 

Bemoan. Bespeak. Bethink. 

(iii) To make verbs out of nouns or adjectives, as — 

Befriend. Beguile. Benumb. Betroth. 

Besiege ( = to take a siege or seat beside a town till it surrenders). 

(iv) To combine with nouns, as — 

Behalf. Bequest. Bypath. 

Behest. Byname. Byword. 

(v) To form part of prepositions and adverbs, as before, besides, etc. 

3. For (O.E. /or = Lat. per) means thoroughly, and has two func- 
tions : — 

(i) To add an intensive meaning, as in — 

Forbid. Forget. Forswear. 

Fordone ( = ruined). Forgive. Forlorn ( = utterly lost). 

£3T Forswear means to swear out and out, to swear to anything, hence falsely. 
Compare the Latin perjurare ; hence our perjure. 

(ii) To give a negative meaning, as in forgo (wrongly spelled forego), 
to go without. 

4. Fore = before ; as forebode, forecast. 

5. Gain (O.E. gegn, back, again),, found in gainsay (to speak 
against). 



PKEFIXES. 121 

6. Mis (O.E. mis, wrong ; and connected with the verb to miss), 
as in — 

Misdeed. Mislead. Mistrust. Mistake. 

Caution. — When mis occurs in certain words of French origin, it is 
a shortened form of minus, less ; as in mischief, mischance, miscount, 
miscreant ( = non-believer). 

7. Un=not, as 

Unholy. Undo. Unbind. 

8. Wan (O.E. wan, wanting ; and connected with wane), which is 
found in — 

Wanton ( = wantowen, Wanhope ( = despair), 

lacking education). Wan trust. 

9. With (a shortened form of O.E. wither = ha,ck or against) is 
found in — 

Withstand. Withdraw. Withhold. 

BSg* It exists also in a latent form in the word drawing-room=withdramng- 



15. The following are the most important 

English Separable Prefixes : — 

1. After, which is found in — 

Aftergrowth. Aftermath (from mow). After-dinner. 

2. All (O.E. al, quite), which is found in — 

Almighty. Alone (quite by one's self). Almost. 

3. Forth, found in forthcoming, etc. 

4. Fro (a shortened form of from), in froward. 

5. In appears in modern English in two forms, as : — 

(i) In, in— 

Income. Insight. Instep. 

Inborn Inbred. Inlay. 

(ii) En or em (which is a Frenchified form), in — 

Endear. Entwine. Embolden. 

Enlighten. Embitter. 



122 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



6. Of or off (which are two spellings of the same word), as — 

Offspring. Offset. 

Offshoot. Offal (that which falls off). 

7. On, as in onset, onslaught, onward. 

8. Out, which takes also the form of ut, as in — 

Outbreak. Outside. Utter. 

Outcast. Outpost. Utmost. 

9. Over (the comparative of the ove in above), which combines :— ' 
(i) With nouns, as in — 

Overcoat. Overflow. Overhand, 

(ii) With adjectives, as in — 

Over-bold. Over-merry. Over-proud. 

(Shakespeare is very fond of such forms.) 

(iii) With verbs, as in — 

Overthrow. Overspread. Overhear. 

10. Thorough or through, two forms of the same word, as in — 
Throughout. Through-train. Thorough -bred. Thoroughfare. 

Shakespeare has "thorough bush, thorough brier, thorough flood, thorough fire. 

11. Twi = two, in twilight, twin, twist, etc. 

12. Under, which goes :— 
(i) With verbs, as in — 

Underlie. Undersell. Undergo, 

(ii) With nouns, as in — 

Underhand. Underground. Undertone, 

(iii) With other words, as in — 

Underneath. Underlying. 



13. Up, which goes : — 




(i) With verbs, as in — 




Upbear. 


Upbraid. 


(ii) With nouns, as in- 




Upland. 


Upstart. 


(iii) With other words, as 


in — 


Upright. 





Uphold. 
Upshot. 



Upward. 



PREFIXES. 123 

16. There are in use in our language many Latin Prefixes ; 
and many of them are of great service. Some of them, as 
circum (about), come to us direct from Latin ; others, like 
counter (against), have come to us through the medium of 
French. The following are the most important 

Latin Prefixes : — 

1. A, ab, abs (Fr. a, av), away from, as in — 

Avert. Abjure. Absent. Abstain. 

Avaunt. Advantage (which ought to be avantage). 

2. Ad (Fr. a), to, which in composition becomes ac, af, ag, al, an, ap, 
ar, as, at, to assimilate with the first consonant of the root. The fol- 
lowing are examples of each : — 

Adapt. Affect. Accord. Agree. 

Aggression. Allude. Annex. Appeal. 

Arrive. Assimilate. Attain. Attend. 

£2W All these words come straight to us from Latin, except agree, arrive, and 
attain. The following are also French : Achieve (to bring to a chef or head), 
amount, acquaint. 

3. Amo, am (ambi, about), as in — 

Ambition. Ambiguous. Amputate. 

4. Ante (Fr. an), before, as in — 

'Antedate. Antechamber. Ancestor (= antecessor). 

5. Bis, bi, twice, as in — 

Bisect. Biscuit ( = biscoctus, twice baked). 

6. Circum, circa, around, as in — 

Circumference. Circulate. Circuit. 

7. Cum, with, in French com, which becomes col, con, cor, coun, and 
CO before a vowel, as in — 

Compound. Collect. Content. Correct. 

Counsel. Countenance. Coeval. Cooperate. 

(i) In cost (from constare, to i: stand"); couch (from colloco. I place); cull 
(from collego, I collect) ; and cousin (from consobrlnus, the child of a mother's 
sister), the prefix has undergone great changes 

(ii) Co, though of Latin origin, can go with purely English words, as in co- 
worker. 

8. Contra (Fr. contre), against, which also becomes contro and 
counter, as in — 

Contradict. Controvert. Counterbalance. 

(i) In counterweigh and counterwork we find it in union with English roots. 
(Ii) In encounter we find it converted into a root. 



124 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

9. De (Fr. de), down, from, about, as in — 

Decline. Describe. Depart. 

It has also two different functions. It is — 
(i) negative in destroy, deform, desuetude, etc. 
(ii) intensive in desolate, desiccate (to dry up), etc. 

10. Dis, di (Fr. des, de), asunder, in two, as in — 

Dissimilar. Disarm. Dismember. 

Differ (s becomes f). Disease. Divorce. 

Defy. Defer. Delay. 

(i) Dis is also joined with English roots to make the hybrids disown, dislike, 
distrust, distaste. 

11. Ex, e (Fr. es, e), out of, from, as in — 

Exalt. Exhale. Expatriate (patria, one's country). 

Elect. Evade. Educe. 

(i) ex has a privative sense in ex-emperor, etc. 
(ii) In amend (emendo), astonish (etonner), the e is disguised. 
(iii) In sample (short for example), scorch (0. Fr. escorcer), and special (for 
especial), the e has fallen away. 

12. Extra, beyond, as in- 

Extraneous. Extraordinary. Extravagant, 

(i) In stranger (0. Fr. estranger, from Lat. extraneus) the e has fallen away. 

13. In (Fr. en, em), in, into, which changes into il, im, ir, as in — 

Invade. Invent (to come upon). Infer. 

Illusion. Improve. Immigrate. 

Irritate. Irrigate. Irradiate. 

Enchant. Endure. Envoy. 

(i) It unites with English roots to make the hybrids embody, embolden, endear, 
entrust, enlighten, etc. 
(ii) In ambush (Ital. imboscarsi, to put one's self in a wood), the in is disguised. 

14. In, not, which becomes il, im, ir, and ig, as in — 

Inconvenient. Illiberal. Impious. Irrelevant. 

Incautious. Illegal. Impolitic. Ignoble. 

(i) The English prefix un sometimes takes its place, and forms hybrids with 
Latin roots in unable, unapt, uncomfortable. 
(ii) Shakespeare has unpossible, unproper, and many others. 

15. Inter, intro (Fr. entre), between, among — as in 

Intercede. Interpose. Interfere. 

Introduce. Entertain. Enterprise. 

16. Male (Fr. mau), ill, as in— 

Malediction, (contracted through French into) 
Malison (opposed to Benison). Maugre. 



PREFIXES. 125 

17. Mis (Fr. mes, from Latin minus), less, as in — 
Misadventure. Mischance. Mischief. 

Caution. — Not to be confounded with the English prefix mis in mis- 
take, mistrust, etc. 

18. Non, not, as in — 

Nonsense. Non-existent. Nonsuit. 

(i) The initial n has dropped off in umpire, formerly numpire = O. Fr. nonper= 
Lat. nonpar, not equal. 

(ii) The n has fallen away likewise from norange, napron (connected with nap- 
kin, napery), etc., by wrongly cleaving to the indefinite article a. 

19. Ob, against, becomes oc, of, op, etc., as in — 

Obtain. Occur. Offend. Oppose. 

20. Pene, almost, as in — ■ 

Peninsula. Penultimate (the last but one). 

21. Per (Fr. par), through, which becomes pel, as in — 

Pellucid. Perform. Perjure. 

Perfect. Permit. Pilgrim. 

(i) Pilgrim comes from peregrinus, a person who wanders per agros, through 
the fields,— by the medium of Ital. pellegrino. 
(ii) Perhaps is a hybrid. 

22. Post, after, as in — 

Postpone. Postdate. Postscript. 

(i) The post is much disguised in puny, which comes from the French puis n€ 
= Lat. post natus, born after. A "puny judge" is a junior judge, or a judge of a 
later creation. 

23. Prae, pre (Fr. pre), before, as in — 

Predict. Presume. Pretend. Prevent. 

(i) It is shortened into a pr in prize, prison, apprehend, comprise (all from pre- 
hendo, I seize). 

(ii) It is disguised in provost (prepositus, one placed over), in preach (from pro&- 
dico, I speak before), and provender (from praibeo, I furnish). 

24. Prseter, beyond, as in — 

Preternatural. Preterite (beyond the present). Pretermit. 

25. Pro (Fr. pour), which becomes pol, por, pur, as in — 
Pronoun. Proconsul. Procure. Protest. 
Pollute. Portrait. Pursue. Purchase. 

26. Re (Fr. re), back, again, which becomes red, as in — 
Eebel. Reclaim. Recover. Refer. 
Redeem. Redound. Readmit. Recreant. 

(i) It is much disguised in rally { — re-ally), in ransom (a, shortened Fr. form of re- 
demption), and in runagate ( = renegade, one who has denied — negavit — his faith). 
(ii) It combines with English roots to form the hybrids relay, reset, recall. 



126 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

27. Retro, backwards — as in retrograde, retrospect. 

(i) It is disguised in rear-guard (Ital. retro-gardia), rear, and arrears. 

28. Se (Fr. se), apart, which becomes sed, as in — 

Secede. Seclude. Seduce. Sedition. 

29. Sub (Fr. sous or sou), under, which becomes sue, suf, sud, sum, 
sup, sur, and sus, as in — 

Subtract. Succour. Suffer. Suggest. 

Summon. Supplant. Surrender. Suspend. 

(i) Sub is disguised in sojoxirn (from O. Fr. sojorner, from Low Latin subdiurnare), 
and in sudden (from Latin siibita7ieus). 

(ii) It combines with English roots to form the hybrids sublet, subworker, sub* 
kingdom, etc. 

30. Subter, beneath — as in subterfuge. 

31. Super (Fr. sur), above, as in — 

Supernatural. Superpose. Superscription. 

Surface (superficies). Surname. Surtout (over-all). 

(i) It is disguised in sovereign (which Milton more correctly spells sovran), from 
Low Latin superanus. 

32. Trans (Fr. tres), beyond, which becomes tra, as in — 
Translate. Transport. Transform. Transitive. 
Tradition. Traverse. Travel. Trespass. 

(i) It is disguised in treason (the Fr. form of tradition, from trado (=transdo), 
I give up), in betray and traitor (from the same Latin root), in tranee and entrance 
(Latin transitus, a passing beyond), and in trestle (from Latin diminutive transtil' 
lum, a little cross-beam). 

33. Ultra, beyond, as in — 

Ultra-Liberal. Ultra-Tory. Ultramontane, 

(i) In outrage (O. Fr. oultrage) the ultra is disguised. 

34. Unus, one, which becomes un and uni, as in — 
Unanimous. Uniform. Unicorn. 

35. Vice (Fr. vice), in the place of, as in — 

Viceroy. Vicar. Vice-chancellor. Viscount. 

17. Our language possesses also a considerable number of 
prefixes transferred from the Greek language, many of whicli 
are very useful. The following are the most important 

Greek Prefixes : — 

1. An, a (av, d), not, as in — 

Anarchy. Anonymous. Apteryx (the wingless). Atheist. 

2. Amphi {a/j.<pt), on both sides, as in- 

Amphibious. Amphitheatre. 



PREFIXES. 127 

3. Ana (tira), up, again, back, as in — 

Anatomy. Analysis. Anachronism. 

4. Anti (dvTi), against or opposite to, as in — 

Antidote. Antipathy. Antipodes. Antarctic 

5. Apo (dir6), away from, which also becomes ap, as in — 

Apostate. Apostle. Apology. Aphelion. 

6. Arch, archi, arche (dpxv), chief, as in — 

Archbishop. Archangel. Architect. Archetype. 

7. Auto (avr6s), self, which becomes auth, as in — 

Autocrat. Autograph. Autotype. Authentic. 

8. Cata, cat (Kara), down, as in — 

Catalogue. Catapult. Catechism. Cathedral. 

9. Dia (Sm), through, across, as in — 

Diameter. Diagram. Diagonal. 

(i) This prefix is disguised in devil— from Gr. diabolos, the accuser or slanderer, 
from Gr. diaballein, to throw across. 

10. Dis, dl (Sis), twice, as in — 

Dissyllable. Diphthong. Dilemma. 

11. Dys (5i;s), ill, as in — 

Dysentery. Dyspeptic (contrasts with Eupeptic). 

12. Ec, ex (e'/c, e£), out of, as in — 

Eccentric. Ecstasy. Exodus. Exotic. 

13. En (eV), in, which becomes el and em, as in — 

Encyclical. Encomium. Ellipse. Emphasis. 

14. Epi, ep {eirl), upon, as in — 

Epitaph. Epiphany. Epoch. Ephemeral. 

15. Eu (e3), well, which also becomes ev, as in — 

Euphemism. Eulogy. Evangelist. 

16. Hemi (t^O, half, as in — 

Hemisphere. Hemistich (half a line in poetry). 

17. Hyper (virtp), over and above, as in — 

Hyperborean. Hyperbole. Hypercritical. Hypermetrical. 

18. Hypo, hyp (vtt6), under, as in — 

Hypocrite. Hypotenuse. Hyphen. 

19. Meta, met {/xerd), after, changed for, as in — 

Metaphor. Metamorphosis. Metonymy. Method. 

20. Mono, mon {fxovos), alone, as in — 

Monogram. Monody. Monad. Monk. 



128 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



21. Pan [irav), all, as in — 

Pantheist. Panacea. 



Panorama. Pantomime. 



22. Para {-rapd), by the side of, which becomes par, as in — 

Paradox. Parallel. Parish. Parody. 

23. Peri (7repi), round, as in — 

Perimeter. Period. Perigee. Periphery. 

24. Pro {irpS), before, as in — 

Prophet. Prologue. Proboscis. Problem. 

25. Pros {Trp6s), towards, as in — 

Prosody. Proselyte. 

26. Syn (auu), with, which becomes syl, sym, and sy, as in — 

Syntax. Synagogue. Syllable. 

Sympathy. Symbol. System. 



18. The Suffixes employed in the English language are much 
more numerous than the Prefixes, and much more useful. Like 
the Prefixes, they come to us from three sources — from Old 
English (or Anglo-Saxon) ; from Latin (or Erench) ; and from 
Greek. 

19. The following are the most important 

English Suffixes to Nouns : — 

1. Ard or art ( = habitual), as in — 

Braggart. Coward. Drunkard. Dullard. 

Laggard. Niggard. Sluggard. Wizard. 

2. Craft (skill), as in — 

Leechcraf t ( — medicine). 
Woodcraft. 



Priestcraft. Witchcraft. 
Eimecraft (old name for Arithmetic). 

3. D, t or th (all being dentals), as in — 
(i) Blood (from blow, said Blade (from the same). 



of flowers). 
Flood (flow). 

(ii) Drift (drive). 
Flight (fly). 

Eift (rive). 

(iii) Aftermath (mow). 
Death (die). 
Mirth (merry). 



Seed (sow). 

Drought (dry). 
Height (high : Milton 
uses highth). 
Theft (thieve). 

Berth (bear). 

Earth (car = plough). 

Sloth (slow). 



Deed (do). 

Thread (throw). 

Draught (draw). 
Shrift (shrive). 

Weft (weave). 

Dearth (dear). 
Health (heal). 
Tilth (till). 



SUFFIXES. 129 

4. Dom (O.E. d6m = doom), power, office, as in— 

Dukedom. Kingdom. Halidom (=holiness). 

Christendom. Thraldom. Wisdom. 

(i) In O.E. we had bisceopdom ( = bishopdom) ; and Carlyle has accustomed us 
to rascaldom and scoundreldom. 

5. En (a diminutive), as in — 

Chicken (cock). Kitten (cat). Maiden. 

(i) The addition of a syllable has a tendency to modify the preceding vowel— as 
in kitchen (from cook), vixen (from fox), and national (from nation). 

6. Er, which has three functions, to denote — 
(i) An agent, as in — 

Baker. Dealer. Leader. Writer. 

(ii) An instrument, as in — 

Finger (from O.E. fangan, to take). Stair (from stigan, to mount). 

8W The ending er has become disguised in liar and sailor (not sailer, 
which is a ship), but not, however, in beggar, in which the suffix is 
not English at all. Beggar is derived from the Low Latin beg- 
hardus; so burglar from the Low Latin burgulator. Under the 
influence of Norman-French, an i or y creeps in before the r, as in 
collier (from coal), lawyer, glazier (from glass), etc. 

7. Hood (O.E. had), state, rank, person, as in — 

Brotherhood. Childhood. Priesthood. Wifehood, 

(i) In Godhead, this suffix takes the form of head. 

8. Ing (originally = son of) part, as in — 

Farthing (fourth). Eiding (trithing=lhirding). Tithing (tenth). 

(i) This suffix is found as a patronymic in many proper names, such as Brown' 
ing, Harding ; and in Kensington, Whittington, etc. 

(ii) Lording (=the son of a lord) and whiting (from white) are also diminutives. 

(iii) This ing is to be carefully distinguished from the ing (=ung) which was 
the old suffix for verbal nouns, as clothing, learning, etc. 

9. Kin (a diminutive), as in — 

Bodkin. Firkin (from four). Lambkin. Mannikin. 

(i) It is also found in proper names, as in Dawk ins ( = little David), Jenkins 
(=son of little John), Haiokins ( = son of little Hal), Perkins (=son of little Peter). 

10. Ling= 1 + ing (both diminutives), as in — 

Darling (from dear). Duckling. Gosling (goose). 

Firstling. Hireling. Nestling. 

(i) Every diminutive has a tendency to run into depreciation, as in ground- 
ling, underling, worldling, etc. 



130 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

11. Le or 1, as in — 

Beadle (from beodan, to bid). Bundle (bind). Saddle (seat). 
Settle (seat). Nail. Sail. 

12. Lock (O.E. lac, gift, sport), which also becomes ledge, as in — 

Knowledge. _ Wedlock. Feohtldc (battle). 

(i) This is not to be confused with the lock and lick in the names of plants, 
which in O.E. was leac, and which we find in hemlock, charlock; garlick ( = spear 
plant) and barley ( = berelic). 

13. Ness forms abstract nouns from adjectives, as in — 

Darkness. Holiness. Weakness. Weariness. 

(i) Witness differs from the above in two respects : (a) it comes from a verb— 
witan, to know ; and (b) is not always an abstract noun. 

(ii) This English suffix combines very easily with foreign roots, as in acute- 
ness, commodiousness, graceful, ess, remoteness, and many others. 

14. Nd (which is the ending of the present participle in O.E.), found 
in — 

Friend (=the loving one). Fiend (=the hating one). 

Errand. Wind (from a root vd, to blow). 

15. Ock (a diminutive), as in — 

Bullock. Hillock. Ruddock (=redbreast). 

(i) In hawk ( = the seizer, from have) this suffix is disguised. 
(ii) It is also found in proper names, as in — 

Pollock (from Paul). Maddox (from Matthew). Wilcox (from William). 

16. M or om, which forms nouns from verbs, as in — 

Bloom (from blow). Qualm (from quell). 

Gloom (from glow). Seam (from sew). 

Gleam (from glow). Team (from tow). 

(i) This suffix unites with the Norman-French word real (royal) to form the 
hybrid realm. 

17. Red (mode, fash on — and also counsel), as in — 

Hatred. Kindred. Sibrede (relationship). 

(i) This ending is also found in proper nouns. Thus we have Mildred=mihl 
in cotmsel; Ethelred = noUe in counsel, called also Unrede, which does not mean 
unready, but without counsel. 

18. Ric (O.E. rice, power, dominion) — as in bishopric. 
(i) In O.E. we had abbotric, hevenricke, and kingric. 

19. Ship (O.E. scipe, shape or form), which is also spelled scape 
and skip, makes abstract nouns, as in — 

Fellowship. Friendship. Lordship 

Landscape. Workmanship. Worship (=worthship). 

(i) Milton writes landskip for landscape. 



SUFFIXES. 131 

20. Stead (O.E. stede, place), as in— 

Bedstead. Homestead. 

Hampstead. Berkhamstead. 

21. Ster was originally the feminine of er, the suffix for a male agent : 
it has now two functions : — 

(i) It denotes an agent, as in — 

Huckster (hawker). Maltster. 

Songster. Boadster. 

(ii) It has an element of depreciation in — 

Gamester. Punster. 

Oldster. Youngster. 

(iii) We had, in Old English, baxter (fem. of baker), webster (weaver), brewster, 
fithelstre (fiddler), seamestre (sewer), etc. Most of these are now used as proper 



(iv) Spinster is the feminine of spinner, one form of which was spinder, which 
then became spider. 

22. Wright (from work, by metathesis of the r), as in — 
Shipwright. Wainwright ( = waggon wright). "Wheelwright. 

23. Ward, a keeper, as in — 

Hay ward. Steward (= sty -ward). "Woodward. 

(i) Ward has also the Norman-French form of guard. 

(ii) In steward, the word stige or sty meant stall for horses, cows, etc. 

20. The following are the most important 

English. Suffixes to Adjectives : — 

1. Ed or d, the ending for the passive participle, as in — 

Cold ( = chilled). Long-eared. Lauded. Talented. 

2. En, denoting material, as in — 

Golden. Silvern. Flaxen. Hempen. 

Oaken. Wooden. Silken. Linen (from lin, flax), 

3. En, the old ending for the passive participle, as in — 

Drunken. Forlorn. Molten. Hewn. 

4. Ern, denoting quarter, as in — 

Eastern. "Western. Northern. Southern. 

5. Fast (O.E. faest, firm), as in — 

Steadfast. Bootfast. Shamefast (wrongly shamefaced). 

6. Fold (O.E. feald), as in- 

Twofold. Threefold. Manifold. 

(i) Simple, from Lat. simplex, has usurped the place of anfeald - onefold. 



132 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

7. Ful - full, as in— 

Hateful. Needful. Sinful. Wilful. 

8. Ish (O.E. isc) has three functions ; it denotes : — 
(i) Partaking in the nature of, as in — 

Boorish. Childish. Churlish. Waspish. 

(ii) A milder or sub-form of the quality, as in- 
Blackish. Greenish. Whitish. Goodish. 

(iii) A patrial relation, as in — 

English. Irish. Scottish. Welsh. 

9. Le, with a diminutive tendency, as in — 

Little {lyt). Brittle. Fickle. 

10. Less (O.E. leas), loose from, as in — 

Fearless. Helpless. Sinless. Toothless. 

11. Like (O.E. lie), softened in Iy, as in — 

Childlike. Dovelike. Wifelike. Warlike. 

Godly. Manly. Womanly. Ghastly (= ghostlike). 

12. Ow (O.E. u and wa), as in- 

Narrow. Callow. Fallow. Yellow. 

13. Right, with the sense of direction, as in — 

Forthright. Downright. Upright. 

14. Some (O.E. sum, a form of same, like), as in — 

Buxom (from bugan, Gladsome. Lissom ( = lithesome). 

to bend). 
Irksome. Gamesome. Winsome. 

15. Teen (O.E. tyne) = ten by addition, as in — 

Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen. 

(i) In thirteen = three + ten, the r has changed its place by metathesis. 
(ii) In fifteen, the hard /has replaced the soft v. 

16. Ty (O.E. tig) = tens by multiplication, as in — 

Twenty ( = twain-ty). Thirty ( = three-ty). Forty. 

17. Ward (O.E. weard, from weorthan, to become), denoting direc- 
tion, as in — 

Fro ward (from). Toward. Untoward. 

Awkward (from awJc > Homeward. Seaward, 

contrary). 

(i) This ending, ward, has no connection with ward, a keeper. It is connected 
with the verb vjorth in the line. "Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day ! " 



SUFFIXES. 133 

18. Y (O.E. ig, the guttural of which has vanished) forms adjectives 
from nouns and verbs, as in — 



Bloody. 


Crafty. 


Mighty. 


Silly. 


Dusty. 


Heavy (heave). 


Stony. 


Weary. 



21. The following are the most important 

English Suffixes for Adverbs : — 

1. Ere, denoting piace in, as in 

Here. There. Where. 

2. Es or s (the old genitive or possessive), which becomes se and ce, 
as in — 

Needs. Besides. Sometimes. Unawares. 

Else. Hence. Thence. Once, 

(i) "I must needs go" = of need. 

3. Ly (O.E. lice, the dative of lie), as in — 

Only { — onely). Badly. Willingly. Utterly. 

4. Ling, long, denotes direction, as in- 

Darkling. Grovelling. Headlong. Sidelong. 

(i) Grovelling is not really a present participle; it is an adverb, and was in 
O.E. gruflynges. 
(ii) We once had also the adverbs flattings and noselings. 

5. Meal (O.E. maelum = at times), as in — 

Piecemeal. Limbmeal. 

(i) Shakespeare, in " Cymbeline," has the line- 

" O that I had her here, to tear her limbmeal." 
(ii) Chaucer has slound-meal = hour by hour ; King Alfred has styklcemaelum 
= stick-meal, or here and there. 

6. Om (an old dative plural), as in — 

Whilom ( = in old times). Seldom (from seld, rare). 

7. Ther, which denotes place to, as in — 

Hither. Thither. Whither. 

8. Ward or wards, which denotes direction, as in — 

Homeward. Homewards. Backwards. Downwards. 

9. Wise (O.E. wise, manner, mode), as in — 

Anywise. Nowise. Otherwise. Likewise. 

"Some people are wise ; and some are otherwise." 



134 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

22. The following are the most important 

English Suffixes for Verbs : — 

1. Le or 1 has two functions : — 
(i) Frequentative, as in — 

Dabble (dab). Grapple (grab). Waddle (wade). 

Dribble (drip). Drizzle (from dreosan, to fall). Jostle. 
(ii) Diminutive, as in — 

Dazzle (daze). Dibble (dip). Dwindle. 

Gabble. Niggle. Sparkle. 

2. Er or r adds a frequentative or intensive force to the original 
verb, as in — 

Batter (beat). Chatter. Glitter (glow). Flutter (flit). 

Glimmer (gleam). Clatter. Sputter (spit). 

Stagger. Stammer. Stutter. Welter. 

Er has also the function of making causative verbs out of adjectives, as linger 
(long), lower, hinder. 

3. En or n makes causative verbs out of nouns and adjectives, as in — 

Brighten. Fatten. Lighten. Lengthen. 

Broaden. Gladden. Soften. Sweeten. 

4. K has a frequentative force, as in — 

Hark (hear). Stalk. Lurk. 

5. S or se has a causative force, as in — 

Cleanse (clean). Rinse (from hrein, clean). 

23. The Suffixes of Latin origin are of great importance ; and 
they have been of great use for several centuries. Many of 
them — indeed, most of them — have been influenced by passing 
through French mouths, and hence have undergone consider- 
able change. The following are the chief 

Latin and ' French Suffixes for Nouns : — 

1. Age (Lat. aticum), which forms either abstract or collective 
nouns, as in— 

Beverage. Courage. Carnage. Homage. 

Marriage. Personage. Vassalage. Vintage. 

(i) It unites easily with English roots to form hybrids, as in bondage, mileage, 
tonnage, poundage, tillage, shrinkage. 

2. An, aln, or ane (Lat, anus), connected with, as in — 

Artisan. Pagan. Publican. Roman. 

Chaplain. Captain. Humane. Mundane. 

(i) The suffix is disguised in sovereign (O. Fr. soverain), which lias boon wrongly 
supposed to have something to do with reign; in warden, citizen, surgeon, etc. 
Milton always spells sovereign, sovran. 



SUFFIXES. 135 

3. Al or el (Lat. alls), possessing the quality of, as in — 

Animal. Cardinal. Canal. Channel. 

Hospital. Hostel. Hotel. Spital. 

(i) Canal and channel are two different forms — doublets— of the same. So are 
cattle and chattels (capitalia). 

(ii) Hospital, spital, hostel, hotel, are four forms of the one Latin word hospit- 
alium. (Ostler is a shorter form of hosteller, with a dropped h.) 

4. Ant or ent (Latin antem or entem), denotes an agent, as in — 

Assistant. Servant. Agent. Student. 

5. Ance, ancy, or ence, ency (Lat. antia, entia), form abstract nouns, 
as in — 

Abundance. Chance. Distance. Brilliancy. 

Diligence. Indulgence. Constancy. Consistency. 

(i) Chance comes from late Lat. caalentia=an accident. Cadence is a doublet. 

6. Ary, ry, or er (Lat. arium), a place where a thing is kept, as in — 

Apiary (apis, a bee). Armoury. Granary. Sanctuary. 
Ewer (aqu-aria). Vestry. Larder. Saucer. 

(i) The ending ry unites freely with English words to form hybrids, as in 
cookery, piggery, robbery. 

(ii) In Jewry, jewellery (or jewelry), poultry, peasantry, cavalry, the ry has a col- 
lective meaning. 

7. Ary, ier, eer, or er (Lat. arius), denotes a person engaged in some 
trade or profession, as in — 

Commissary. Notary. Secretary. Statuary. 

Brigadier. Engineer. Mountaineer. Mariner, 

(i) This ending is disguised in chancellor (cancellarius), vicar, butler (= bottler), 
usher (ostiarius, a doorkeeper), premier, etc. 

8. Ate (Lat. atus, past participle ending), becoming in French e or ee, 
denotes — 

(i) An agent, as in— 

Advocate. Curate. Legate. Private. 

(ii) The object of an action, as in— 

Grantee. Legatee. Trustee. Vendee. 

£3T In grandee the passive signification is not retained. 

9. Ce (Lat. cium, tium, or tia) forms abstract nouns, as — 

Benefice. Edifice. Sacrifice. 

Hospice. Palace. Grace. 

10. El, le or 1 (Lat. iilus, ellus, etc.), a diminutive, as in — 

Angle (a little corner). Buckle (from bucca, the cheek). 

Castle. Chapel. Libel. Pommel. Title. Seal, 
(i) Castle, from Lat castellum, a little fort, from castrum, a fort, 
(ii) Libel, from Lat. libellus, a little book (liber). 
(iii) Pommel, from Lat. pomum, an apple. 
(iv) Seal, from Lat. sigillum. 



136 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, 

11. Era (Lat. eraa), denoting place, as in — 

Cavern. Cistern. 

12. Et, ette, and let (Fr. et, ette) all diminutives, as in — 

Bassinette. Buffet. Chaplet. Coronet. 

Goblet. Gibbet. Lancet. Leveret. 

Puppet. Trumpet. Ticket. Turret. 

(i) The let is = l + et. and is found in bracelet, fillet, cutlet, etc. It also unites 
•with English words to form hybrids— as in hamlet, leaflet, ringlet, streamlet, etc. 

(ii) This ending is disguised in ballot (a small ball), chariot (car), parrot 
(= per roquet), etc. 

13. Ess (late Lat. issa), a female agent, as in — 

Empress. Governess. Marchioness. Sorceress. 

(i) It unites with English words to form the hybrids murderess, sempstress 
(The last is a double feminine, as seamestre is the old word.) 

14. Ice, ise, or ess (Lat. tia ; Fr. esse), as in — 

Avarice. Cowardice. Justice. Merchandise. 

Distress. Largess. Noblesse. Riches. 

(i) It is a significant mark of the carelessness with which the English language 
has always been written, that the very same ending should appear in three 
spellings in largess, noblesse, riches. 
(ii) Riches is a false plural : it is an abstract noun, the French form being richesse. 

15. Ice (Lat. icem ace. of nouns in x), which has also the forms of 
ise, ace, as in — 

Chalice. Pumice. Mortise. Furnace, 

(i) The suffix is much disguised in radish (=the root, from radicem). 
(ii) It is also disguised in partridge and judge (judicem). 

16. Icle (Lat. iculus, ellus, ulus), which appears also as eel and sel, 
a diminutive, as in — 

Article (a little joint). Particle. Receptacle. Versicle. 
Parcel ( particella). Morsel (from mordeo, I bite). 

Damsel (dominicella, a little lady). 

(i) The ending is disguised in rule (regula), carbuncle (from carbo, a coal), uncle 
(avunculus), and vessel (from vas). 
(ii) Parcel and particle are doublets. 

17. Ine or in (Lat. inus) related to, as in — 

Divine (noun). Cousin. 

(i) Cousin is a contraction — through French — of the Latin consobrinus, 
the child of a mother's sister. 

(ii) The ending is disguised in pilgrim, from peregrinus = from per agros, 
through the fields. 

18. Ion (Lat. \6nem), which appears also as tion, sion, and, from 
French, as son, som, denotes an action, as in — • 



SUFFIXES. 137 

Action. Opinion. Position. Vacation. 

Potion. Poison. Benediction. Benison. 

Redemption. Ransom. Malediction. Malison. 

(i) Potion, poison, and the three other pairs are doxiblets — the first having 
come through the door of books straight from the Latin, the second through 
the mouth and ear, from French. 

(ii) Venison (hunted flesh, from venationem), season (sationem, the sowing 
time), belong to the above set. 

19. Ment (Lat. mentum) denotes an instrument or an act, as in — 

Document. Instrument. Monument. Ornament. 

(i) It combines easily with English words to make hybrids, as atonement^ 
acknowledgment, bewitchment, fulfilment. 

20. Mony (Lat. monium) makes abstract nouns, as — 
Acrimony. Matrimony. Sanctimony. Testimony. 

21. Oon or on (Fr. on ; Ital. one), an augmentative, as in — 
Balloon. Cartoon. Dragoon. Saloon. 
Flagon. Million. Pennon. Glutton. 
Clarion. Galleon. Trombone. Truncheon. 

(i) Augmentatives are the opposite of diminutives. Contrast balloon and ballot ; 
galleon and galliot (a small galley). 

(ii) A balloon is a large ball ; a cartoon a big carte ; a dragoon a large dragon ; 
a saloon a large hall (salle) ; flagon (O. Fr. flascon), a large flask ; million, a big 
thousand (mille) ; pennon, a large pen or feather ; galleon, a large galley ; trom- 
lone, a large trump-et ; truncheon, a large staff (or trunk) of office. 

22. Ory, (Lat. orium), which appears also as or, our, and er, and 
denotes place, as in — 

Auditory. Dormitory. Refectory. Lavatory. 

Mirror. Parlour. Dormer. Manger. 

(i) Mirror is contracted by the French from miratorium ; parlour from par- 
latorium; manger from manducatorium= the eating-place. Dormer is short 
for dormitory, from dormitorium. 

23. Our (Lat. or ; Fr. eur), forms abstract or collective nouns, as 
in — 

Ardour. Clamour. Honour. Savour, 

(i) The ending resumes its French form in grandeur. 
(ii) It forms a hybrid in behaviour. 

24. Or or our (Lat. orem ; Fr. eur) denotes an agent, as in — 
Actor. Governor. Emperor Saviour. 

(i) This ending is disguised in interpreter, labourer, preacher, etc. 
(ii) A large number of nouns which used to end in our or or, took er through 
the influence of the English suffix er. They were " attracted " into that form. 



138 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

25. T (Lat. tus— the ending of the past participle) indicates a completed 
act, as in — 

Act. Fact. Joint. Suit. 

(i) The t in Latin has the same origin and performs the same function as the d 
in English (as in dead, finished, and other past participles, etc.) 

(ii) The ending is disguised in feat, which is a doublet of fact, in fruit (Lat. 
fruct-us), comfit (=confect), counterfeit (=contrafact-um). 

26. Ter (Lat. ter) denotes a person, as in — 

Master (contracted from magister). Minister, 

(i) Magister comes from magis, more, which contains the root of magnus, great ; 
minister from minus, less. 

27. Tery (Lat. terium) denotes condition, as in— 

Mastery. Ministry. 

28. Trix (Lat. trix) denotes a female agent, as in — 

Executrix. Improvisatrix. Testatrix, 

(i) This ending is disguised in empress (Pr. impe~ratrice from Lat. imperatrix) ,* 
and in nurse (Fr. nourrice, Lat. nutrix). 

29. Tude (Lat. tudlnem), denotes condition, as in — 

Altitude. Beatitude. Fortitude. Multitude, 

(i) In custom, from Lat. consuetudinem, the ending is disguised. 

30. Ty (Lat. tatem ; Fr. te) makes abstract nouns, as in — 

Bounty. Charity. Cruelty. Poverty. 

Captivity. Frailty. Fealty. Vanity, 

(i) Bounty (bontc), poverty (pauvrete), frailty, and fealty come, not directly 
from Latin, but through French. 

31. Ure (Lat. lira) denotes an action, or the result of an action, as 
in — 

Aperture. Cincture. Measure. Picture. 

32. Y (Lat. ia ; Fr. ie) denotes condition or faculty, as in — 
Company. Family. Fury. Victory. 

(i) This suffix unites easily with English words in er— as bakery, fishery, rob- 
bery, etc. 
(ii) It stands for Lat. ium in augury, remedy, study, subsidy, etc. 
(iii) It represents the Lat. ending atus in attorney, deputy, ally, quarry. 

24. The Latin (or French) suffixes employed in our language 
to make Adjectives are very useful. The following are the 
chief 

Latin Suffixes for Adjectives. 

1. Aceous (Lat. aceus) = made of, as in — 

Argillaceous (clayey). Farinaceous (floury). 



SUFFIXES. 139 

2. Al (Lat. 311s) = belonging to, as in — 

Legal. Regal. Loyal. Royal. 

(i) Loyal and royal are the same words as legal and regal; but, in passing 
through French, the hard g has been refined into a y. 

3. An, ane, or ain (Lat. anus and aneus) = connected with, as ia — 

Certain. Human {homo). Humane. Pagan (pagus, a 

district). 
(i) This ending disguises itself in mizzen (medianus) ; in surgeon (chirurgianus) ; 
and in sexton (contracted from sacristan). 

(ii) In champaign (level), and foreign (foraneus), this ending greatly disguises 
itself. In strange (extranet^), still more. All have been strongly influenced in 
their passage through the French. 

4. Ant, ent (Lat. antem, entem, ace. of pres. part.), as in' — 

Current {curro, I run). Distant. President. Discordant. 

5. Ar (Lat. axis) which appears also as er = belonging to, as in — 

Regular. Singular. Secular. Premier, 

(i) Premier (Lat. primarius), has received its present spelling by passing 
through French. 

6. Ary (Lat. arius), which also takes the secondary formations of 
arious and arian = belonging to, as in — 

Contrary. Necessary. Gregarious. Agrarian. 

7. Atic (Lat. aticus) = belonging to, as in — 

Aquatic. Fanatic (fanum). Lunatic. 

8. Able, ible, ble (Lat. abilis, 6bilis, ibilis) = capable of being, 
as in — 

Amiable. Culpable. Flexible. Movable. 

(i) Feeble (Lat. fiebilis, worthy of being wept over), comes to us through the 
O. Fr. jloible. 

(ii) This suffix unites easily with English roots to form hybrids, like eatable, 
drinkable, teachable, gullible. Carlyle has also doable. 

9. Pie, ble (Lat. plex, from plico, I fold) = the English suffix— fold, 
as in — 

Simple ( = onefold). Double. Triple. Treble. 

10. Esque (Lat. iscus ; Fr. esque) = partaking of, as in — 

Burlesque. Grotesque {grotto). Picturesque, 

(i) This ending is disguised in morris (dance) =Morcsco (or Moorish). 

11. fc (Lat. Icus) = belonging to, as in — 

Gigantic. Metallic. Public {populus). Rustic, 

(i) This ending is disguised in indigo (from Indicus [colour] — tlu Indian 
eolour.) 



140 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

12. Id (Lat. idus) = having the quality of, as in — 

Acid. Frigid. Limpid. Morbid. 

13. He, il (Lat. His), often used as a, passive suffix, as in — 

Docile. Fragile. Mobile. Civil. 

(i) Fragile, in passing through French, lost the g — which was always hard-^ 
and became frail. 
(ii) The suffix He is disguised in gentle and subtle. 

(iii) Gentile, gentle, and genteel, are all different forms of the same word, 
(iv) Kennel ( = canile) is really an adjective from canis. 

14. Ine (Lat. inus) = belonging to, as in — 

Canine. Crystalline. Divine. Saline. 

(i) In marine, the ending, by passing through French, has acquired a French 
pronunciation. 

15. Ive (Lat. Ivus) = inclined to, as in — 

Abusive. Active. Fugitive. Plaintive. 

(i) This ending appears also as iff, by passing through French, as in caitiff 
(= captivus) ; and in the nouns plaintiff and bailiff. 

(ii) It also disguises itself as a y in hasty, jolly, testy, which in O. Fr. were 
hastif, jollif, testif(= heady). 

(iii) It unites with the English word talk to form the hybrid talkative. 

16. Lent (Lat. lentus) = full of, as in — 

Corpulent. Fraudulent. Opulent (opes). Violent (vis). 

17. Ory (Lat. 6rius) = full of, as in — 

Amatory. Admonitory. Illusory. 

18. Ose, ous (Lat. osus) = full of, as in — 

Bellicose. Grandiose. Verbose. Curious, 

(i) The form in ous has been influenced by the French ending eux. 

19. Ous (Lat. us) = belonging to, as in — 

Anxious. Assiduous. Ingenuous. Omnivorous. 

(i) It unites with English words to form the hybrids wondrous, boisterous, 
righteous (which is an imitative corruption of the O.E. rihtwis). 

20. Und (Lat. undus) = full of, as in- 

Jocund. Moribund. Rotund. 

(i) Rotund has been shortened into round. Second is, through French, from 
Lat. secundzis (from sequor, I follow)— the number that follows the first. Ventus 
secundus is a favourable wind, or a "wind that follows fast." 

(ii) This ending is slightly modified in vagabond and second. 

21. Ulous (Lat. iilus) = full of, as in — 

Querulous (full of complaint). Sedulous. 



SUFFIXES. 141 

25. The following are the chief 

Latin Suffixes for Verbs. 

1. Ate (Lat. atum, supine), as in — 

- Complicate. Dilate. Relate. Supplicate. 

(i) Assassinate (from the Arabic hashish, a preparation of Indian hemp, whose 
effects are similar to those of opium) is a hybrid. 

2. Esce (Lat. esco), a frequentative suffix, as in — 

Coalesce (to grow together). Effervesce (to boil up). 

3. Fy (Lat. f ico ; Fr. fie — from Lat. facio) = to make, as in — 

Beautify. Magnify. Signify. 

4. Ish (Fr. iss) = to make, as in — 

Admonish. Establish. Finish. Nourish. 

5. Ete, ite, t (Lat. itum, etum, turn), with an active function, as in — 

Complete. Delete. Expedite. Connect. 

26. The suffixes which the English language has adopted 
from Greek are not numerous ; but some of them are very useful. 
Most of them are employed to make nouns. The following are 
the chief 

G-reek Suffixes. 

1. Y (Gr. ia), makes abstract nouns, as in — 

Melancholy. Monarchy. Necromancy. Philosophy, 

(i) Fancy is a compressed form of phantasy (phantasia = imagination), 
(ii) In dyspepsia and hydrophobia (late introduced words) the full Greek suffix 
is retained. 

2. Ic (Gr. ik6s)= belonging to, as in — 

Aromatic. Barbaric. Frantic. Graphic. 

Arithmetic. Schismatic. Logic. Music. 

(i) With the addition of the Latin alls, adjectives are formed from some of 
these words, as logical, musical, etc. 

(ii) The plural form of some adjectives also makes nouns of them, as in politics, 
ethics, physics. In Ireland we find also logics. 

(iii) Arithmetic, logic, and music are from Greek nouns ending in ike. 

3. Sis (Gr. <ris) = action, asm — 

Analysis. Emphasis. Genesis. Synthesis. 

(i) In the following words sis has become sy, as hypocrisy, poesy, palsy (short 
for parah/sis). 
(ii) In the following the is has dropped away altogether— ellipse, phase. 



142 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

4. Ma or m (Gr. fxa), passive suffix, as in — 

Diorama. Dogma. Drama (something done). Schism. 

Baptism. Barbarism. Despotism. Egotism. 

(i) In diadem and system the a has dropped off; in scheme and theme it has 
been changed into an e. 

(ii) Schism comes from schizo, I cut. 

(iii) This ending unites freely with Latin words to form hybrids, as in deism, 
mannerism, purism, provincialism, vulgarism, etc. 

5. St (Gr. arns) = agent, as in — 

Baptist. Botanist. Iconoclast (image-breaker). 

(i) This suffix has become a very useful one, and is largely employed. It forn 
numerous hybrids with words of Latin origin, as «h 1[ iouist, excursionist, educK 
tionist, journalist, protectionist, juris' , socialist specialist, royalist. 

6. T or te (Gr. rr)s)= agent, as in — 

Comet. Planet. Poet. Apostate. 

(i) Comet means a long-haired star; planet, a wanderer; poet, a maker (in 
Northern English poets called themselves " Makkers ") ; an apostate, a person 
who has fallen away. 

(ii) This ending is also found in the form of ot and it, as in idiot, patriot, 
hermit. 

7. Ter or tre (Gr. rpou), denotes an instrument or place, as in — 

Metre. Centre. Theatre. 

8. Isk (Gr. htkos), a diminutive, as in — 

Asterisk (a little star). Obelisk (a small spit). 

9. Ize or ise (Gr. ifa) makes factitive verbs, as in — 

Baptise. Criticise. Judaize. Anglicize. 

(i) This ending combines with Latin words to form the hybrids minimise, 
realise, etc. 



143 



WORD - BRANCHING. 





"When our language was young and uninfluenced by other 

languages, it had the power of growing words. These words, 

like plants, grew from a root ; and 

all the words that grew from the same 

root had a family likeness. Thus 

byrn-an, the old word for to burn, 

gave us brimstone, brown (which is 

the burnt colour), brunt, brand, 

brandy, and brindle. These we 

might represent to ourselves, on the 

"blackboard, as growing in this way. 

But, unfortunately, we soon lost this 
power. From the time when the Nor- 
mans came into this country in 1066, the language became less 
and less capable of growing its own words. Instead of produc- 
ing a new word, we fell into the habit of simply taking an old 
and ready-made word from French, or from Latin, or from 
Greek, and giving it a place in the language. Instead of the 
Old English word fairhood, we imported the French word 
beauty ; instead of fore wit, we adopted the Latin word cau- 
tion ; instead of licherest, we took the Greek word cemetery. 
And so it came about that in course of time we lost the power 
of growing our own new words. The Greek word asterisk 
has prevented our making the word starkin ; the Greek name 
astronomy has kept out star-craft ; the Latin word omnibus 
has stopped our even thinking of folkwain; and the name 
vocabulary is much more familiar to our ears than word- 
hoard. Indeed, so strange have some of our own native 



144 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



English words become to us, that sentences composed entirely 
of English Avords are hardly intelligible ; and, to make them 
quickly intelligible, we have to translate some of the English 
words into Greek or into Latin. It is well, however, for us to 
become acquainted with those pure English words which grew 
upon our own native roots, and which owe nothing whatever 
to other languages. For they are the purest, the simplest, the 
most homely and the most genuine part of our language ; and 
from them we can get a much better idea of what our language 
once was than we can from its present very mixed condition. 
The following are the most important 



ENGLISH ROOTS AND BRANCHES (OR DERIVATIONS). 



Bac-an, to bake— baker, baxter i (a woman 
baker), batch. 

Ban-a, a flayer— bane, baneful ; ratsbane, 
henbane. 

Beat-an, to strike— beat ; beetle (a wooden 
bat for beating clothes). 

Beorg-an, to shelter— burrow, bury (noun 
in Canterbury — and verb) ; burgh, 
burgher ; burglar (a house-robber) ; har- 
bour-, Cold Harbour; 2 harbinger (a pei- 
son sent on in front to procure lodg- 
ings) ; borrow (to raise money on secur- 
ity). 

Ber-an, to bear— bear, bier, bairn ; birth, 
berth ; burden. 

Bet-an, to make good — better, best ; boot 
(in "to boot" = "to the good"), boot- 

. less. 

Bidd-an, to pray— bedesman ; bead ("to 
bid one's beads" was to say one's 



prayers ; and these were marked off by 
small round balls of wood or glass— now 
called beads— strung upon a string). 

Bind-an, to bind— band, bond, bondage ; 
bundle ; woodbine ; bindweed. 

BIt-an, to bite— bit ; beetle; bait; bitter. 

Bla'w-an, to puff— bladder, blain (chil- 
blain), blast, blaze (to proclaim), blazon 
(a proclamation), blare (of a trumpet); 
blister. 

Blow-an, to blossom— blow (said of flow- 
ers); bloom, blossom; blood, blade; 
bloway. 

Brec-an, to break— break, breakers ; brake, 
bracken; breach, brick; break -fast; 
bray (where the hard guttural has been 
absorbpd). 

Breow-an, to brew- brew, brewer; broth. 

Bug-an, to bend— bow, elbow ; 3 bough ; 
bight ; buxom (O.E. bocsum, flexible or 



1 Compare breivster, a woman brewer, spinster, webster, and others. Brewster, Baxter, 
and Webster are now only used as proper names. 

2 Cold Harbour was the name given to an inn which provided merely shelter without 
provisions. There are numerous places of this name in England. Many of them stand 
on the great Roman roads ; and they were chiefly the ruins of Roman villas used by 
travellers who carried their own bedding and provisions. See Isaac Taylor's 'Words 
and Places,' p. 956. 

3 Elbow = ell-bow. The ell was the forepart of the arm. 



WORD-BRANCHING. 



145 



obedient). The hard g in bigan appears 
as a w in bow, as a gh in bough, as a y 
in bay, as a k in buxom = buk-som. 

Byrn-an, to burn — burn, brown ; brunt, 
brimstone; brand, brandy; brindled. 

Cat, a cat— catkin ; kitten, kitling ; cater- 
pillar (the hairy cat, from Lat. pilosus, 
hairy), caterwaul. 

Ceapi-an, to buy— cheap, cheapen ; chop 
(to exchange) ; a chopping sea ; chap, 
chapman; chaffer; Eastcheap, Cheap- 
side, Chepstow ( = the market stow or 
place), Chippenham. 1 

Cenn-an, to produce — kin, kind, kindred ; 
kindly ; kindle. 

Ceow-an, to chew — chew; cheek; jaw 
( = chaw); jowl ; chaw-bacon; cud(=the 
chewed). Compare seethe and suds. 

Cleov-an, to split — cleave, cleaver ; cleft. 

Clifi-an, to stick to— cleave. 

Cnaw-an, to know — ken, know ; know- 
ledge. 

Cnotta, a knot— knot, knit. 

Cunn-an, to know or to be able— can, con ; 
cunning ; uncouth. 

Cweth-an, to say— quoth ; bequeath. 

Cwic, alive — quick, quicken; quickset; 
quicklime; quicksilver; to cut to the 
quick. 

Dael-an, to divide— deal (verb and noun), 
dole ; dale, dell (the original sense being 
cleft, or separated). 

Dem-an, to judge — deem, doom ; demp- 
ster (the name for a, judge in the Isle of 
Man) ; doomsday ; kingdom. 

De6r, dear— dearth ; darling; endear. 

Doan, to act— do ; don, dotf, dup ( = do up 
or op-en); dout (=do out or put our); 
deed. Compare mow, mead ; sow, seed. 

Drag -an, to draw — drag, draw, diay 
(three forms of the same word) ; draft 
(draught) ; drain ; dredge ; draggle ; 
drawl. 

Drif-an, to push— drive; drove; drift, 
adrift. 

Drige, dry— dry (verb and a<lj.) ; drought ; 
drugs (originally dried plants). 



Drinc-an, to soak— drink; drench (to 
make to drink). Compare sit, set; fall 
fell, etc. 

Drip -an, to drip — drip, drop, droop; 
dribble, driblet. 

Dug-an, to be good for— do (in "That 
will do ") ; doughty. 

Eac, also— eke (verb and adv.); ekename 
(which became a nickname ; the n hav- 
ing dropped from the article and clung 
to the noun). 

Eage, eye— Egbert ( = bright-eyed); daisy 
( = day's eye); window ( = wind-eye). 

Eri-an, to plough— ear (the old word for 
plough); earth (=the ploughed). 

Far-an, to go or travel— far, fare; welfare, 
fieldfare, thoroughfare ; ferry ; ford. 

Feng -an, to catch — fang, finger, new- 
fangled (catching eagerly after new 
things). 

Feower, four— farthing; firkin; fourteen; 
forty. 

Fleog-an, toflee-fly, flight; flea; fledged. 

Fledt-an, to float — fleet (noun, verb, and 
adj.); float; ice-fl.ie; afloat; fl"atsam 2 
(things found floating on the ivutcr after 
a wreck). 

F6d-a, food-feed; food, fodder, foster; 
fath-er; forage ( = fodderage), forager; 
foray (an excursion to get food). 

Fre6n, to love— freorul = friend (the pres. 
parr.) a lover ; Fri day (the day of Friya, 
the goddess of love); friendship, etc. 

Gal-an, to sing — gale, yell ; nightingale. 3 

Gang-an. to go — gangr, gangway; ago. 
(Tne words gate and gait do not come 
from this verb, but from get.) 

Gnag-an, to bite — gnaw (the g has be- 
come, a it')! nH g (to tease). 

Graf- an, to dig or cut — grave, groove, 
grove (the original sense was a lane cut 
through trees); graft, engraft ; engrave, 
engraver. 

Grip-an. to seize— grip, gripe; grasp; 
grab ; grope. 

Gyrd-an, to surround — gird, girdle ; gar- 
den, yard, vineyard, hopyard. 



1 The same root is found in the Scotch Kippea and the Danish Copenhagen = Mer- 
chants' Haven. 

2 "Flotsam and jetsam" mean the floating things and the things thrown over- 
board from a ship. Jetsam comes from Old Fr. jetter, to throw. (Hence also "jet of 
water" ; jetty, etc. Jetsam is a hybrid— sum being a Scandinavian suffix. 

3 The n in nightingale is no part of the word. It is intrusive and non-organic ; as 
it also is in passenger, messenger, porringer, etc. 



146 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



Hael-an, to heal— hale ; holy, hallow, 
All -hallows; health; hail; whole, 1 
wholesome ; wassail ( = Waes hal ! = Be 
whole i) 

Hebb-an, to raise— heave, heave-offering ; 
heavy ( = that require much heaving); 
heaven. 

Hlaf, bread— loaf; lord (hlaford = loaf- 
ward) ; lady ( = hlaf-dige, from dig-an, to 
knead); Lammas (-Loaf-mass, Aug. 1 ; 
a loaf was offered on this day as the 
offering of the first-fruits). 

Leac, a leek — house-leek; garlic; hem- 
lock. 

Licg-an, to lie — lie; lay, layer; lair; 
outlay. 

Loda, a guide— lead (the verb); lode-star, 
lode-stone (also written loadstone). 

Mag-an, to be able — may, main (in "might 
and main "), might, mighty. 

Mang, a mixture — a-mong ; mongrel ; 
mingle. 

Maw-an, to cut — mow ; math, aftermath ; 
mead, meadow (the places where grass is 
mowed). 

M6n-a, the moon — month; moonshine. 
(This word comes from a very old root, 
ma, to measure. Our Saxon forefathers 
measured by moons and by nights, as 
we see in the -words fortnight, se'nnight.) 

Naeddre, a snake — adder. The n has 
dropped off from the word, and has ad- 
hered to the article. Compare apron, 
from naperon (compare with napkin, 
napery) ; umpire, from numpire. The 
opposite example of the n leaving the 
article and adhering to the noun, is 
found in nag, from an ag ; nickname 
from an ekename. 

Na3u, a nose— nose, naze, ness (all three 
different forms of the same word, and 
found in the Naze, Sheerness, etc.); 
nostril = n^se- thirl (from thirlian, to 
bore a hole), nozzle ; nosegay. 

Penn-an, to shut up or enclose— pen, pin 
(two f rms of the same word); pound, 
pond (two forms of the same word); 
impound. 

Pic, a point— pike, peak (two forms of the 
same word) ; pickets (stakes driven into 
the ground to tether horses to) ; pike, 
pickerel (the fish) ; peck, pecker. 

Raed-an, to read or guess— rede (advice) ; 



riddle; Ethelred ( = nol>le in counsel); 
Unready ( = Unrede, without counsel); 
Mildred ( = mild in counsel). 

Rea"f, clothing, spoil ; reafi-an, to rob— rob, 
robber ; reave, bereave ; rcever ; robe. 

Ripe, ripe — reap (to gather what is ripe). 

Scad-an, to divide— shed (to part the 
hair); watershed. 

Sceap-an, to form or fashion— shape ; ship 
(the suffix in friendship, etc.); scape 
(the suffix in landscape, etc.) 

Sce6t-an, to throw — shoot, shot, shut 
(=to shoot the bolt of the door); sheet 
(that which is thrown over a btd) ; shut- 
ter, shuttle ; scud. 

Sce'r-an, to cut— bhear, share, sheer, shire, 
shore (all forms of the same woid) ; sca>-, 
scare ; score (the twentieth notch in 
the tally, and made larger than the 
others); scarify, sharp; short, shirt, 
skirt (three forms of the same word) ; 
shred, potsherd (the same word, with 
the r transposed); sheriff ( = scir-gerefa, 
reeve of the shire). The soft form sh. 
belongs to the southern English dia- 
lects : the hard forms, sc and sk, to 
the northern. 

Scuf-an, *to push— shove, shovel, shuffle ; 
scuffle; sheaf; scoop. 

Sett-an, to set, or make sit— set, seat ; 
settle, saddle ; Somerset, Dorset. 

Slag-an, to strike — slay (the hard g has 
been refined into a y), slaughter ; slog, 
sledge (in sledge-hammer). 

Slip-an, to slip — slop; slipper, sleeve (into 
which the arm is slipped). 

Snic-an, to crawl — sneak, snake, snail 
(here the hard guttural has been refined 
away). 

Spell, a story or message— spell (=to give 
an account of or tell the story of tin 
letters in a word); spell-bound ; gospel 
( = God's spell). 

Stearc, stiff— stark ; strong (a nasalised 
form of stark); string (that which is 
strongly twisted) ; strength ; strangle. 

Stede, a place— stead, instead, homestead, 
farm-steading; steady; steadfast; be- 
stead ; Hampstead. 

Stic'i-an, to stick— stick, stitch (two forms 
of the same word), stake, stock, stock- 
ade ; stock-dove ; stock-fish (fish dried 
to keep in, stock); stock-still. 



1 The w in whole is intrusive and non-organic, as in whoop, and in wun (=one, so 
pronounced, but not s-o written). Before the year 1500 whole was always written hole ; 
and in this form it is seen to be a doublet of hale. Holy is simply hole+y. 



WORD-BRANCHING. 



147 



Stig-an, to climb — stair; stile; stirrup 
( = stigrdp, or rope for rising into the 
saddle); sty (in pig-sty). 

Stow, a place — bestow; stowage, stowa- 
way; Chepstow (=the place where a 
cheap or market is held); Bristol (the 
1 and w being interchangeable). 

Styr-an, to direct— steer, stern ; steerage. 

Sundri-an, to part — sunder ; sundry ; 
asunder. (Compare sever and several.) 

Sweri-an, to declare — swear, answer ( = 
andswerian, to declare in opposition or 
in reply to), forswear. 

Taec-an, to show— teach, teacher; token 
(tb at which is shown) ; taught (when 
the hard c reappears as a gh). 

Tell-an, to count or recount — tell ; tale,i 
talk ; toll ; teller. 

Teoh-an (or te6n), to draw — tow, tug 
(two forms of the same word, the hard 
guttural having been preserved in the 
one); wanton ( = without right upbring- 
ing). Compare wanhope = despair ; 
wantrust = mistrust. 

Thaec, a roof— thatch ; deck. 

Tred-an, to walk— tread, treadle; trade; 
tradesman, trade-win. 

Truwa, good faith— true, truth, troth, be- 
troth. 

Twa, two — two, twin, twain; twelve ( = 
two + lufan, ten) ; twenty ; between ; 
twig; twiddle; twine, twist, etc. 



Waci-an, to be on one's guard— wake, 
watch (two forms of the same word) ; 
awake, wakeful. 

Wad-an, to go— wade; waddle; Watling 
Street (the road of the pilgrims). The 
Eng. word wade is of the same origin as 
the Lat. vade in evade, invade, etc. 

"Wana, a deficiency — wan, wane; want, 
wanton ; wanhope (the old word for des- 
pair). 

Wef-an, to weave — weave, weaver; web, 
webster (a woman-weaver) ; cobweb ; 
woof, weft (v, b, and f, being all labials). 

Werre, war — warfare (faring or going to 
war), warlike, warrior. War is from the 
Teutonic base wars, to twist. Worse 
is a cognate word, in which the s 
is part of the root or base. 

Wit-an, to know — wit, to wit ; wise, wis- 
dom ; wistful ; witness ; Witena-gemote 
(=the Meeting of the Wise); y-wis (the 
past participle, wrongly written I 
wis). 

Wraest-an, to wrest — wrest, wrestle; 
wrist. 

Wring-an, to force — wring, wrong (that 
which is wrung out of the right course). 

Wyrc-an, to work — work, wright (the r 
shifts its place). 

Wyrt, a herb or plant— wort; orchard ( = 
wort -yard); wart (on the skin); St 
John's wort, etc. 



LATIN ROOTS. 



Those words with (P) after them have not come to us directly from Latin ; 
but, indirectly, through French. 



Acer(acris), sharp; acrid, acrimony, vine- 
gar (sharp wine, F.), eager (F.) 

iEdes, a building ; edifice, edify. 

JEquus, equal; equality, equator, equi- 
nox, equity, adequate, iniquity. 

Ager, afield; agriculture, agrarian, pere- 
grinate. 



Ago (actum), I do, act; act, agent, agile, 
agitate, cogent. 

Alo, I nourish ; aliment, alimony. 

Alter, the other of two; alternation, sub- 
altern, altercation. 

Altus, high; altitude, exalt, alto (It.), 
altar. 



1 "And every shepherd tells his tale (=counts his sheep) 
Under the hawthorn in the dale."— Milton : II Penseroso. 



148 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



Ambulo, I walk; amble, perambulator. 

Amo, I love; amity, amorous, amiable (F.), 
inimical. 

Angulus, a corner; angle, triangle, quad- 
rangle. 

Anima, life; animal, animate, animation. 

Animus, mind; magnanimity, equan- 
imity, unanimous, animadvert. 

Annus, a year; annual, perennial, bien- 
nial, anniversary. 

Aperio (apertum), I open; aperient, aper- 
ture, April (the opening month). 

Appello, I call; appeal, appellation, ap- 
pellant, peal (of bells). 

Aqua, water ; aqueduct, aquatic, aqueous, 
aquarium. 

Arcus, a bow; arch, arc, arcade (Fr. It.) 

Ardeo, I burn; ardent, ardour, arson 
(F.) 

Ars (artis), art; artist, artisan (F.), arti- 
fice, inert. 

Audio, I hear; audience, audible, audi- 
tory. 

Augeo (auctum), I increase; augment, 
author, auctioneer. 

Barba, a beard ; barb, barber, barbel (all 
through F.) 

Bellum, war; rebel, rebellious, bellig- 
erent, bellicose. 

Bis, twice; biscuit, bissextile, bisect, 
bicycle. 

Brevis, short; brevity, abbreviate, brief 
(F.), breviary, abridge (F.) 

Cado (casum), I fall ; casual, accident. 

Csedo (caesum), I cut, kill; precise, exci- 
sion, decide. 

Candeo, I shine; candidus, white; can- 
did, candidate, candle. 

Cano (cantum), I sing; cant, canticle, 
chant (F.), incantation. 

Capio (captum), I take; captive, accept, 
reception (F.), capacity. 

Caput, the head; capital, captain, cape, 
chapter (F.) 

Caro (carnis), flesh; carnal, carnival, car- 
nivorous, carnation. 

Causa, a cause; causative, accuse (F.), 
excuse (F.) 

Cavus, hollow; cavity, cave, excavate, 
concave. 

Cedo (cessum), ^ gn, yield; proceed (F.), 
ancestor (F.), secede. 

Centrum (Gr. xevrpov = a point), centre; 
centralise, centripetal, eccentric. 

Centum, ahundred; century, centurion, 
cent. 



Cerno (cretum), to distinguish; discern, 
discretion, discreet. 

Cingo (cinctum), I gird; cincture, suc- 
cinct, precinct. 

Cito, I call or summon; citation, recite 
(F.), excite (F.), incite (F.) 

Civis, a citizen; city (F.), civic, civil, civ- 
ilise, civilian. 

Glamo, I shout; claim (F.), clamour, re- 
claim (F.), proclamation. 

Clarus, clear; clarify, declare, clarion, 
claret (F.) 

Claudo (clausura), I shut ; clause, close 
(F.), exclude, seclusion. 

Clino, I bend; incline, decline, recline. 

Colo (cultum), I till; cultivate, arboricul- 
ture, agriculture. 

Cor (cordis), the heart; courage (F.), cor- 
dial (F.), discord, record. 

Corona, a crown; coronet, coroner, coro- 
nation, corolla. 

Corpus, the body; corps, corpse (F), cor- 
pulent, corporation. 

Credo, 1 believe; credibility, credence (F.), 
miscreant (F.), creed, creditor. 

Creo, I create; create, creation, recrea- 
tion, creature. 

Cresco, I grow; increase, decrease, incre- 
ment. 

Crux (crucis), a cross; crucial, crucifix, 
cruise (F.) 

Cubo, I lie down; cubit, incubate, recum- 
bent. 

Culpa, a fault; culprit, culpable, excul- 
pate, inculpate. 

Cura, cure ; curate, curator, accurate, 
secure, incurable. 

Curro (cursum), I run; current, recur, 
excursion, cursory, course (F.), occur. 

Decern, ten; decimal, December, deci- 
mate. 

Dens (dentis), a tooth; dentist, dental, 
indent, trident. 

Deus, God; deity, deify, divine. 

Dico (dictum), I say; verdict, dictionary, 
dictation, indictment, ditto. 

Dies, a day; diary, diurnal, meridian. 

Din;nus, worthy ; dignity, dignify, in- 
dignant, deign (F.) 

Do (datum), I give; date, data, donor, 
tradition. 

Doceo (doctum), I teach; docile, doctor, 
doctrine. 

Dominus, a lord ; domineer, dominion, 
dominant, dame (F.), damsel (F.), 
inadame (F.) 



WORD-BRANCHING. 



149 



Domus, a house ; domestic, domicile. 

Dormio, / sleep; dormitory, dormant, 
dormouse. 

Duco (ductum), I lead; induct, educa- 
tion, duke (F.), produce. 

Duo, ttro ; dual, duel, duplex, double (F.) 

Emo (emptum), I buy; exemption, re- 
deem. 

Eo (itum), I go ; exit, transit, circuit (F.), 
ambition, perish (F.) 

Erro, J wander ; err, error, aberration. 

Facies, a face; facial, facet (F.), super- 
ficial. 

Facio (factum), I make; manufacture, 
factor, faction, fashion (F.), feature 
(F.), fact, feat (F.) 

Fero (latum), / carry; infer, suffer, refer- 
ence, difference ; relative, correlative. 

Fido, I trust; confide, diffident, infidel. 

Filum, a thread; file, defile, profile, fillet 
(F.) 

Finis, the end; finish, finite, infinite, in- 
finitive. 

Firmus, firm; infirm, affirm, confirm. 

Flecto (flexum), I bend; inflect, inflection, 
flexible. 

Flos (floris), a flower; floral, flora, flori- 
culture. 

Fluo (fluxum), I flow; fluent, fluid, flux, 
affluent. 

Folium, a leaf; foliage, foil (F.), portfolio, 
trefoil (F.) 

Forma, a form; form, formal, reform, 
conformity. 

Fortis, strong ; fortify, fortitude, fortress, 
force (F.) 

Frango (fractus), I break; fragile (F.), 
fragmentary, infraction, infringe. 

Frater, a brother; fraternal, fratricide, 
friar (F.) 

Frons (frontis), the forehead; front, frontal, 
frontier, frontispiece. 

Fugio, I flee; fugitive, refugee, subterfuge. 

Fundo (fusum), I pour; fount (F.), foun- 
dry, funnel, fusible, diffusion. 

Fundus, the bottom; foundation, profound 
(F.), founder. 

Gens (gentis), a race, people; gentile, 
genteel (F.), gentle, congenial. 

Gero (gestum), I bear, carry; gesture, 
suggestion, indigestion. 

Gradus, a. step ; gradior (gressus), I go ; 
grade, degrade, graduate ; progress (F.), 
gradient: 

Gratia, favour, pi. thanks; gratitude, in- 
gratiate, gratis. 



Gravis, heavy ; grave, gravity, grief (F.), 
aggrieve (F.) 

Habeo (habituni), I have; habit, able, 
exhibit, prohibition. 

Hsereo (hsesum), I stick; adhere, adher- 
ent, cohesion. 

Homo, a man; homicide, homage (F.), 
human, humane. 

Ignis, fire ; ignite, igneous. 

Impero, I command; imperative, imperial, 
empire, emperor (F.) 

Initium, a beginning; initiate, initial. 

Insula, an island; isle, insular, peninsula. 

Jacio (jectum), / throw; adjective, pro- 
ject, injection, object, subject. 

Judex (judicis), a judge; judgment (F.), 
judicial. 

Jungo (junctum), I join; junction, junc- 
ture, conjoin (F.), adjunct. 

Jus (juris), right; justice (F.), jury, in- 
jury. 

Labor (lapsus), I glide; lapse, relapse, 
collapse. 

Lapis (lapidis), a stone; lapidary, dilapi- 
dated. 

Laus (laudis), praise; laud, laudable, laud- 
ation, allow (F.) 

Lego (lectuin), I gather, read; collect, 
elector, select ; lecture (F.), legend, 
legible. 

Lego (legatum), I send ; legate, delegate, 
legacy. 

Levis, light; levity, alleviate, relief (F.), 
lever, leaven. 

Lex (legis), a law; legal, legislate, legiti- 
mate. 

Liber, free ; liberal, liberty, libertine. 

Liber, a book; library, librarian. 

Ligo, I bind; ligament, religion, oblige 
(F.), liable (F.) 

Linquo (lictum), I leave; relinquish, relict, 
relics. 

Litera, a letter; literal, literary, litera- 
ture. 

Locus, a place; local, allocate, dislocate, 
locomotive. 

Loquor (locutus), I speak; loquacious, 
elocution, colloquy. 

Ludo (lusum), I play ; elude, illusion, in- 
terlude, ludicrous. 

Lumen, light; illuminate, luminous, lum- 
inary. 

Luna, the, moon; lunar, sublunary, lun- 
acy. 

Luo (lutum), I wash; ablution, dilute, 
antediluvian. 



150 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



Lux (lucis), light; lucid, elucidate, pel- 
lucid. 

Magnus, great ; magnitude, magnify, mag- 
nificent, magnanimous. 

Malus, bad ; malady, malice (F.), malaria, 
malevolent. 

Maneo (mansum), I remain; manse, man- 
sion, permanent. 

Manus, the hand; manuscript, manual, 
manufacture, amanuensis. 

Mare, the sea; marine, mariner, maritime. 

Mater, a mother; maternal, matricide, 
matron, matriculate. 

Maturus, ripe; mature, immature, pre- 
mature. 

Medius, the middle; medium, mediate, 
immediate, Mediterranean. 

Memini, I remember; memor, mindful; 
memory, memoir (F.), commemorate, 
immemorial. 

Mens (mentis), the mind; mental, de- 
mented. 

Mergo (mersum), I dip; emerge, immer- 
sion, emergency. 

Merx (mercis), goods; merchandise (F.), 
commerce (F.), merchant (F.) 

Miles (milites), a soldier; military, mili- 
tant, militia. 

Miror, I admire; admirable, miracle, 
mirage (F.) 

Mitto (missum), I send; commit, missile, 
mission, remittance. 

Modus, a measure; mood, modify, accom- 
modate. 

Moneo (monitum), I advise; monition, 
monitor, monument. 

Mons (montis), a mountain; amount (F.), 
dismount (F.), promontory, ultramon- 
tane. 

Mors (mortis), death; mortify, mortal, 
immortality. 

Moveo (motum), I move; mobile (F.), 
promote, motor, motive. * 

Multus, many ; multitude, multiple, mul- 
tiply. 

Munus (muneris), a gift; munificent, re- 
munerate, municipal. 

Muto, I change ; mutable, transmute. 

Nascor (natus), to be born ; nascent, natal, 
nativity, nature. 

Navis, a ship; navy, naval, navigate, 
nave. 

Necto (nexum), I tie; connect, connec- 
tion, annex. 

Nego (negatum), I deny; negative, nega- 
tion, renegade (Sp.) 



| Noceo, I injure; noxious, innocuous, in- 
nocent. 

Nona en, a name; nominal, cognomen, no- 
mination. 

Novus, new; novel, renovate, novelty, 
innovation. 

Nox (noctis), night; nocturnal, equinoc- 
tial, equinox. 

Kudus, naked ; nude, denude, denudation. 

Numerus, a number; numeration, in- 
numerable, enumerate. 

Octo, eight; octave, octagon, October. 

Omnis, all; omnibus, omnipotent, om- 
niscient. 

Opus (operis), work; operation, co-oper- 
ate, opera. 

Ordo (ordinis), order; ordinal, ordinary, 
ordinance. 

Oro, I pray ; oration, orator, peroration. 

Pando (pansum or passum), J spread ; ex- 
pand, expanse, compass, pace. 

Pareo, I appear; appearance, apparent, 
apparition. 

Paro (paratum), I prepare ; repair (F.), 
apparatus, comparison (F.) 

Pars (partis), a part; particle, partition, 
partner, parcel (F.) 

Pasco (pastum), I feed; pastor, repast, 
pasture. 

Pater, a father; paternal, parricide (F.), 
patrimony. 

Patior (passus), I suffer ; impatient, pas- 
sive, passion. 

Pax (pacis), peace; pacify, pacific. 

Pello (pulsum), I drive; repel, expel, ex- 
pulsion, impulsive. 

Pendeo (pensum), I hang; pendant, de- 
pend, suspend, suspense, appendix. 

Pes (pedis), the foot ; pedal, impede, ped- 
estrian, biped. 

Peto (petitum), I seek ; petition, petulant, 
compete, appetite. 

Planus, level; plan (F.), plane, plain, ex- 
plain. 

Plaudo (plausum), I clap the hands; ap- 
plaud, plausible (F.), explode. 

Pleo (pletum), I fill; complete, comple- 
tion, supplement. 

Plico (plicatum), I fold; complicated, pli- 
able(F.), reply (F.), display (F.), simple. 

Poena, punishment; penal, repent, pen- 
alty, penitent, penance. 

Pono (posituin), I place ; deponent, posi- 
tion, imposition, post. 

Pons (pontis), a bridge; pontiff, transpon- 
tine. 



WORD-BRANCHING. 



151 



Porto, I carry; export, deportment, re- 
port, portmanteau (F.) 

Possum, I am able; potens, able; pos- 
sible, potency (F.), impotent. 

Prehendo (prehensum), (Fr. prendre, 
pris), 1 take; prehensile, comprehend, 
apprise," comprise, apprentice (F.) 

Primus, first; primary, primitive, prim- 
rose. 

Probo, I try, prove ; probe, probable, im- 
prove (F.), approve (F.) 

Proprius, one's own; proper, property, 
appropriation. 

Pungo (punctum), I prick; pungent, ex- 
punge, punctual, poignant (F.) 

Puto (putatum), I cut, think; compute, 
count (F ), amputate, reputation. 

Quatuor, four; quadra, a square; quart, 
quarter, quarry (F.), quadrant. 

Radix, a root; radical, eradicate, radish 
(F.) 

Rapio (raptum), I seize ; rapture, rapine, 
surreptitious. 

Rego (rectum), I rule; rex (regis), a king; 
regal, regulate, regent, rector, interreg- 
num, royal (F.), realm (N.-Fr. real). 

Rideo (risum), I laugh; ridicule (F.), de- 
ride, ridiculous (F.), risible. 

Rogo (rogatum), I ask; rogation, interro- 
gation, derogatory. 

Rota, a wheel ; rotary, rotation, rotund 
— contracted into round (F.) 

Rumpo (ruptum), I break ; rupture, erup- 
tion, disruption. 

Sacer, sacred; sacrament, sacrilege (F.), 
sacerdotal, sexton (contracted from 
sacristan). 

Salio (saltum), I leap; sally (F.), assail 
(F.), salient, salmon. 

Sanctus, holy; sanctuary, sanctify, saint 
(F.) 

Scando (scansum), I climb ; scala, a lad- 
der; scan, scale, descent, ascension. 

Scio, I know; science, scientific, con- 
science, omniscient. 

Scribo (scriptum), I write ; scribe, scrib- 
ble, scripture, inscription, postscript. 

Seco (sectum), I" cut; bisect, dissect, in- 
sect, section. 

Sedeo (sessum), I set, sit ; sediment, sub- 
side, see (F.), residence (F.), insidious. 

Sentio, I feel; sense, sentiment, sensual, 
scent (F.) 

Septem, seven; septennial, September. 

Sequor (secutus), I follow ; sequence (F.), 
sequel, consequent, prosecute. 



Servio, I serve; service (F.), servant, ser- 
geant (F.) 

Signum, a sign ; signify, significant, des- 
ignation, ensign (F.) 

Similis, like; similar, similitude, resemble 
(F.) 

Socius, a companion; social, society, as- 
sociation. 

Solus, alone ; solitude, sole, solo (It.) 

Solvo(solutum), I loose; dissolve, resolve, 
absolute, resolution. 

Specio (spectum), I see; aspect, spectator, 
specimen, spectre. 

Spero, I hope; despair (F.), desperate. 

Spiro, I breathe; inspire, aspire, con- 
spiracy. 

Statuo, I set up ; sto (statum), I stand ; 
statue, statute, stature, institute. 

Stringo (strictum), I bind ; stringent, 
constrain (F.), district. 

Struo (structum), I build ; structure, con- 
struct, obstruct, construe. 

Sumo (sumptum), I take; assume, con- 
sume, assumption. 

Tango (tactuin), J touch; tangible, tan- 
gent, contact, contagious. 

Tego (tectum), I cover; integument, de- 
tect, tile (F.) ; from Lat. tegula. 

Tempus (temporis), time; temporal, con- 
temporary, extempore. 

Tendo (tensum), I stretch; contend, ex- 
tend, attend, tense (F.), tendon. 

Teneo (tentum), I hold; tenant, tenet, 
tendril, detain (F.), retentive. 

Terminus, an end, boundary; terminate, 
term, interminable. 

Terra, the earth ; subterranean, terrestrial, 
Mediterranean. 

Terreo, I frighten ; terror, terrify, deter. 

Texo (textum), I weave; textile, text, 
texture, context. 

Timeo, 1 fear ; timid, timorous. 

Torqueo (tortum), I twist; torture, tor- 
ment, contortion, retort. 

Traho (tractum), I draw; traction, sub- 
tract, contraction, tract. 

Tres (tria), three; trefoil, trident, trinity. 

Tribuo, I give; tribute, tributary, con- 
tribution. 

Tumeo, I swell ; tumulus, a swelling or 
mound; tumult, tumour, tomb (F.) 

Unus, one; union, unit, unite, uniform, 
unique (F.) 

Urbs, a city ; suburb, urbanity, urbane. 

Valeo, I am strong; valour, valiant (F.X 
prevail (F.) 



152 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



Vanus, empty; vanity, vanish, vain (F.) 

Veho (vectum), I convey; vehicle, con- 
veyance (F.), convex. 

Venio, I come ; venture, advent, convene, 
covenant (F.) 

Verbum, a word; verb, adverb, verbose, 
verbal, proverb. 

Verto (versum), I turn; convert, revert, 
divert, versatile. 

Verus, true; verity, verify, aver, verdict. 

Via, a way ; deviate, previous, trivial. 

Video (visum), I see; vision, provide, visit 
(F.), revise (F.) 

Vinco (victum), I conquer; victor, con- 
vict, victory, convince. 



Vitium, a fault; vice (F.), vitiate, vicious 
(F.) 

Vivo (victum), Hive; vivid, revive, viands 
(F.), survive. 

Voco (vocatum), I call; vocal, vowel (F.), 
vocation, revoke, vociferate. 

Volo, I wish; volition, voluntary, benev- 
olence. 

Volvo (volutum), I roll; revolve, involve, 
evolution, volume. 

Voveo (votum), I vow ; vote, devote, vow 
(F.) 

Vulgus, the common people; vulgar, di- 
vulge, vulgate. 



GREEK ROOTS. 



Agon, a contest ; agony, antagonist. 

Alios, another; allopathy, allegory. 

Angelos, a messenger; angel, evangelist. 

Anthropos, a man; misanthrope, philan- 
thropy. 

Archo, I begin, rule; monarch, archaic, 
archbishop, archdeacon. 

Arithmos, number; arithmetic. 

Aster or astron, a star ; astronomy, astro- 
logy, asteroid, disaster. 

Atmos, vapour; atmosphere. 

Autos, self; autocrat, autograph. 

Ballo, I throw ; symbol, parable. 

Bapto, / dip ; baptise, baptist. 

Baros, weight; barometer, baritone. 

Biblos, a book ; Bible, bibliomania. 

Bios, life; biography, biology, amphi- 
bious. 

Cheir, the hand; surgeon [older form, 
chirurgeon]. 

Chole, bile; melancholy, choler. 

Chrio, I anoint ; Christ, chrism. 

Chronos, time; chronology, chronic, chron- 
icle, chronometer. 

Daktiilos, a finger; dactyl, pterodactyl, 
date (the fruit). 

Deka, ten ; decagon, decalogue, decade. 

Demos, the people; democrat, endemic, 
epidemic. 

Dokeo, I think; doxa and dogma, an 
opinion; doxology, orthodox, hetero- 
dox, dogma, dogmatic. 

Drao, / do ; drama, dramatic. 

Dunamis, pov>er ; dynamics, dynamite. 

Eidos, form ; kaleidoscope, spheroid. 



Eikon, an image ; iconoclast. 

Electron, amber; electricity, electrotype. 

Ergon, a work; surgeon (= chirurgeon), 
energy, metallurgy. 

Eu, well ; eucharist, euphony, evangelist. 

Gamos, marriage; bigamy, monogamist, 
misogamy. 

Ge, the earth; geography, geometry, geo- 
logy- 

Gennao, I produce; genesis, genealogy, 
hydrogen, oxygen. 

Grapho, I write ; gramma, a letter ; gra- 
phic, grammar, telegraph, biography, 
diagram. 

Haima, blood; haemorrhage, hemorrhoid. 

Haireo, / take away ; heresy, heretic. 

Hecaton, a hundred; hecatomb, hecto- 
metre. 

Helios, the sun ; heliograph, heliotype. 

Hemi, half; hemisphere. 

Hieros, sacred ; hierarchy, hieroglyphic. 

Hippos, a horse; hippopotamus, hippo- 
drome. 

Hodos, a way ; method, period, exodus. 

Homos, the same; homoeopathy, homo- 
geneous. 

Hudor, water; hydraulic, hydrophobia, 
hydrogen. 

Ichthus, a fish; ichthyology. 

Idios, one's own ; idiom, idiot, idiosyn- 
crasy. 

Isos, equal; isochronous, isobaric (of equal 
weight), isosceles. 

Kalos, beautiful; caligraphy, kaleidoscope. 

Kephale, the head ; hydrocephalus. 



WORD-BEANCHING. 



153 



Klino, I bend ; clinical, climax, climate. 

Kosmos, order; cosmogony, cosmography, 
cosmetic. 

Krino, I judge ; critic, criterion, hypo- 
crite. 

Kuklos, a circle; cycle, cycloid, cyclone. 

Kuon (kun-os), a dog ; cynic, cynicism. 

Lego, / say, choose ; eclectic, lexicon. 

Lithos, a stone : lithograph, aerolite. 

Logos, a word, speech; logic, dialogue, 
geology. 

Luo, I loosen; dialysis, analysis, paralysis. 

Meter, a mother; metropolis, metropo- 
litan. 

Metron, a measure ; metre, metronome, I 
diameter, thermometer, barometer. 

Monos, alone : monastery, monogram, mo- I 
nosyllable, monopoly, monarch. 

Morphe, shape ; amorphous, dimorphous, 
metamorphic. 

Naus, a ship ; nautical, nausea. 

Nekros, a dead body; necropolis, necro- 
mancy. 

Nomos, a law; autonomous, astronomy, 
Deuteronomy. 

Oikos, a house ; economy, economical. 

Onoma, a name ; anonymous, synony- 
mous, patronymic. 

Optomai, / see ; optics, synoptical. 

Orthos, right : orthodoxy, orthography. 

Pais (paid-os), a boy; pedagogue [lit. a 
boy-leader]. 

Pan, all : pantheist, panoply, pantomime. 

Pathos, feeling ; pathetic, sympathy. 

Pente, five; pentagon, pentateuch, Pente- 
cost. 

Petra, a rock ; petrify, petrel, Peter. 

Phainomai, I appear ; phenomenon, phan- 
tasy, phantom, fantastic, fancy. 

Phero, J bear ; periphery, phosphorus 
[=the light.bearer]. 



Phileo, I love; philosophy, Philadelphia, 
philharmonic. 

Phone, a sound; phonic, phonetic, eu- 
phony, symphony. 

Phos iphot-os), light ; photometer, photo- 
graph. 

Phusis, nature; x>hysics, physiology, phy- 
sician. 

Poieo, I make; poet, poetic, pharmacopoeia. 

Polis, a city ; Constantinople, metropolis. 

Polus, many; polytheist, Polynesia, poly- 
anthus, polygamy. 

Pous (p5d-os), afoot; antipodes, tripod. 

Protos, first ; prototype, protoplasm. 

Pur, fire ; pyrotechnic, pyre. 

Rheo, I flow ; rhetoric, catarrh, rheu- 
matic. 

Sk5peo, I see; microscope, telescope, 
spectroscope, bishop [from episkopos, 
an overseer]. 

Sophia, wisdom ; sophist, philosophy. 

Stello, I send ; apostle, epistle. 

Stratos, an army ; strategy, strategic. 

Strepho, I turn ; catastrophe, apostrophe. ) 

Techne, an art ; technical. 

Tele, distant; telegraph, telescope, tele-^ 
phone, telegram. 

Temno, I cut ; anatomy, lithotomy, 

Tetra, four ; tetrachord, tetrarch. 

Theaomai, I see; theatre, theory. 

Theos, a god : theist, enthusiast, theology., 

Therme, heat ; thermal, thermometer, 
isotherm. 

Tithemi, I place ; thesis, a placing ; syn- 
thesis, hypothesis. 

Treis, three; triangle, trigonometry, tri-i 
pod, trinity, trichord. 

Trepo, I turn ; trophy, tropic, heliotrope. 

Tupos, the impress of a seal ; type, stereo* 
type. 

Zoon, an animal; zoology, zodiac , 



154 



WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OP 
PERSONS, ETC. 

Argosy, a corruption of Ragosie, "a ship of Ragusa," Ragusa being a 

port in Dalmatia, on the East Coast of the Gulf of Venice. Used by 

Shakespeare, in the " Merchant of Venice," i. 1. 9, in the sense of 

trading vessel. 
Assassins, the name of a fanatical Syrian sect of the thirteenth century, 

who, under the influence of a drug prepared from hemp, called has- 

chisch, rushed into battle against the Crusaders, and slaughtered 

many of their foes. 
Atlas, one of the Titans, or earlier gods, who was so strong that he was said 

to carry the world on his shoulders. 
August, from Augustus Caesar, the second Emperor of Rome. 
Bacchanalian, from the festival called Bacchanalia; from Bacchus, the 

Roman god of wine. 
Loycott (to), from Captain Boycott, a land agent in the west of Ireland, 

who was " sent to Coventry " by all his neighbours ; they would neither 

speak to him, buy from him, or sell to him — by order of the " Irish 

Land League." 
Chimera, a totally imaginary and grotesque image or conception ; from 

Chimsera, a monster in the Greek mythology, half goat, half lion. 
Cicerone, a guide ; from Cicero, the greatest Roman orator and writer of 

speeches that ever lived. (Guides who described antiquities, etc.* were 

supposed to be as "fluent as Cicero.") 
Cravat, from the Croats or Crabali of Croatia, who supplied an army 

corps to Austria, in which long and large neck-ties were worn by the* 

soldiers. 
Dahlia, from Dahl, a Swedish botanist, who introduced the flower into 

Europe. 
Draconian (code), a very severe code ; from Draco, a severe Athenian legis- 
lator, who decreed death for every crime, great or small. His laws 

were said to have been "Written in blood." 
Dunce, from Duns Scotus, a great philosopher (or " schoolman ") of the 

Middle Ages, who died 1308. The followers of Thomas Aquinas 

called "Thomists," looked down upon those of Duns, who were called 

"Scotists," and in course of time "Dunces." 



WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS. 155 

Epicure, a person fond of good living ; from Epicurus, a great Greek phil- 
osopher. His enemies misrepresented him as teaching that pleasure 
was the highest or chiefest good. 

Euphuistic (style), a style of high-flown refinement ; from Euphues (the 
well-born man), the title of a book written in the reign of Elizabeth, 
by John Lyly, which introduced a too ingenious and far-fetched way 
of speaking and writing in her Court. 

Fauna, the collective name for all the animals of a region or country ; from 
Faunus, a Roman god of the woods and country. (The Fauni were 
minor rural deities of Rome, who had the legs, feet, and ears of a goat, 
and the other parts of the body of a human shape.) 

Flora, the collective name for all the plants and flowers of a region or 
country ; from Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. 

Galvanism, from Galvani, an Italian physicist, lecturer on anatomy at 
Bologna, who discovered, by experiments on frogs, that animals are 
endowed with a certain kind of electricity. 

Gordian (knot), the knot tied by Gordius a king of Phrygia, who had been 
originally a peasant. The knot by which he tied the draught-pole 
of his chariot to the yoke was so intricate, that no one could untie it. 
A rumour spread that the oracle had stated that the empire of Asia 
would belong to him who should untie the Gordian knot. Alexander 
the Great, to encourage his soldiers, tried to untie it ; but, finding 
that he could not, he cut it through with his sword, and declared that 
he had thus fulfilled the oracle. 

Guillotine, an instrument for beheading at one stroke, used in France. 
It was invented during the time of the Revolution by Dr Guillotin. 

Hansom (cab), from the name of its inventor. 

Hector (to), to talk big; from Hector, the bravest of the Trojans, as 
Achilles was the bravest of the Grecian chiefs. 

Hermetically (sealed), so sealed as to entirely exclude the outer air ; 
from Hermes, the name of the Greek god who corresponds to the 
Roman god Mercury. Hermes was fabled to be the inventor of 
chemistry. 

Jacobin, a revolutionist of the extremest sort ; from the hall of the 
Jacobin Friars in Paris, where the revolutionists used to meet. 
Robespierre was for some time their chief. 

Jacobite, a follower of the Stuart family ; from James II. (in Latin 
Jacobus), who was driven from the English throne in 1688. 

January, from the Roman god Janus, a god with two faces, "looking 
before and after." 

Jovial, with the happy temperament of a person born under the influence 
of the star Jupiter or Jove ; a term taken from the old astrology. 
(Opposed to saturnine, gloomy, because born under the star Saturn.) 

July, from Julius, in honour of Julius Coesar, the great Roman general, 
writer, and statesman — who was born in this month. 

Lazarettor or Lazar-house, from Lazarus, the beggar at the gate of 



15G GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Dives, in Luke xvi. The word is corrupted into lizard in Lizard- 
point, where a lazar-house once stood, for the reception of sick people 
from on board ship. 

Lynch-law, from a famous Judge Lynch, of Tennessee, who made short 
work of his trials, and then of his criminals. 

Macadamise, to make roads of fragments of stones, which afterwards 
cohere in one mass ; from John Loudon Macadam, the inventor, who, 
in 1827, received from the Government a reward of £10,000 for his 
plan. 

March, from Mars, the Roman god of war. 

Martinet, a severe disciplinarian, with an eye for the smallest details ; 
from General Martinet, a strict commander of the time of Louis XIV. 
of France. 

Mausoleum, a splendidly built tomb ; from Mausolus, King of Caria in 
Asia Minor, to whom his widow erected a gorgeous burial-chamber. 

Mentor, an adviser ; from Mentor, the aged counsellor of Telemachus, the 
son of Ulysses. 

Mercurial, of light, airy, and quick-spirited temperament, as having been 
born under the planet Mercury (compare Jovial, Saturnine, etc.) 

Panic, a sudden and unaccountable terror ; from Fan, the god of flocks 
and shepherds. He was fabled to appear suddenly to travellers. 

Parrot ( = Little Peter, or Peterhin), from the French Perrot = Pierrot, 
from Pierre, Peter. Compare Magpie — Margaret Pie; Jackdaw; 
Robin-redbreast ; Cuddy (from Cuthbert), a donkey, etc. 

Petrel, the name of a sea-bird that skims the tops of the waves in a storm, 
the diminutive of Peter. It is an allusion to Matthew xiv. 29. These 
birds are called by sailors " Mother Carey's chickens." 

Phaeton, a kind of carriage ; from Phaethon, a son of Apollo, who received 
from his father permission to guide the chariot of the Sun for a single 
day. 

Philippic, a violent political speech directed against a person ; from the 
orations made by Demosthenes, the great Athenian orator, against 
Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. 

Plutonic (rocks), igneous rocks (created by the action of fire) — in oppo- 
sition to sedimentary rocks, which have been formed by the depositing 
action of water ; from Pluto, the Roman god of the infernal regions. 

Protean, assuming many shapes ; from Proteus, a sea-deity, who had 
received the gift of prophecy from Neptune, but who was very 
difficult to catch, as he could take whatever form he pleased. 

Quixotic, fond of utterly impracticable designs ; from Don Quixote, the 
hero of the national Spanish romance, by Cervantes. Don Quixote is 
made to tilt at windmills, proclaim and make war against whole 
nations by himself, and do many other chivalrous and absurd 
things. 

Simony, the fault of illegally buying and selling church livings ; from 
Simon Magus. (See Acts viii. 18.) 



WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS. 157 

Stentorian, very loud and strong ; from Stentor, whom Homer describes 
as the loudest-voiced man in the Grecian army that was besieging 
Troy. 

Tantalise, to tease with impossible hopes ; from Tantalus, a king of 
Lydia in Asia Minor. He ofiended the gods, and was placed in 
Hades up to his lips in a pool of water, which, when he attempted to 
drink it, ran away ; and with bunches of grapes over his head, which, 
when he tried to grasp them, were blown from his reach by a blast of 
wind. 

Tawdry, shabby — a term often applied to cheap finery ; from St 
Ethelreda, which became St Audrey : originally applied to clothes 
sold at St Audrey's fair. (Compare Tooley from St Olave ; Ted from 
St Edmund; etc.) 

"Volcano and Vulcanite, from the Roman god of fire and smiths, Vulcanus. 
A volcano was regarded as the chimney of one of his workshops. 



158 



WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OP 
PLACES. 

Academy, from Academia, the house of Academus, a friend of the great 
Greek philosopher Plato, who was allowed to teach his followers 
there. Plato taught either in Academus's garden, or in his own 
house. 

Artesian (well), from Artois, the name .of an old province in the north- 
west of France, the inhabitants of which were accustomed to pierce 
the earth for water. 

Bayonet, from Bayonne, in the south of France, on the Bay of Biscay. 
(Compare Pistol from Pistoia, a town in the north of Italy.) 

Bedlam, the name for a lunatic asylum — a corruption of the word Beth- 
lehem (Hospital). 

Cambric, the name of the finest kind of linen ; from Cambray, a town in 
French Flanders, in the north-west of France. 

Canter, an easy and slow gallop ; from the pace assumed by the Canter- 
bury Pilgrims, when riding along the green lanes of England to the 
shrine of Thomas a Becket. 

Carronade, a short cannon ; from Carron, in Stirlingshire, Scotland, 
where it was first made. 

Cherry ; from Cerasus, a town in Pontus, Asia Minor, where it was much 
grown. 

Copper and Cypress ; from the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean. 

Currants, small dried grapes from Corinth, in Greece, where they are still 
grown in large quantities. They are shipped at the port of Patras. 

Damson, a contraction of damascene ; from Damascus = the Damascus 
plum. (Hence also damask.) 

Dollar, a coin — the chief coin used in America ; from German Thaler 
( = Daler, or something made in a dale or valley). The first coins of 
this sort were made in St Joachimsthal in Bohemia, and were called 
Joachim's thaler. 

Elysian (used ivith fields or bliss), from Elysium, the place to which the 
souls of brave Greeks went after death. 

Ermine, the fur worn on judges' robes ; from Armenia, because this fur 
is "the spoil of the Armenian rat." 



WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PLACES. 159 

Florin, a two-shilling piece ; from Florence. Professor Skeat says : 
" Florins were coined by Edward III. in 1337, and named after the 
coins of Florence." 

Gasconading, boasting ; from Gascony, a southern province of France, the 
inhabitants of which were much given to boasting. One Gascon, on 
being shown the Tuileries — the palace of the Kings of France — re- 
marked that it reminded him to some extent of his father's stables, 
which, however, were somewhat larger. 

Gipsy, a corrupt form of the word Egyptian. The Gipsies were supposed 
to come from Egypt. (The French call them Bohemians. ) 

Guinea, a coin value 21s. now quite out of use, except as a name — made 
of gold brought from the Guinea Coast, in the west of Africa. 

Hock, the generic term for all kinds of Rhine-wine, but properly only the 
name of that which comes from Hochheim, a celebrated vineyard. 

Indigo, a blue dye, obtained from the leaves of certain plants ; from the 
Latin adjective Indicus= belonging to India. 

Laconic, short, pithy, and full of sense ; from Laconia, a country in the 
south of Greece, the capital of which was Sparta or Lacedremon. 
The Laconians, and especially the Spartans, were little given to talk' 
ing, unlike their lively rivals, the Athenians. 

Lilliputian, very small ; from Lilliput, the name of the imaginary country 
of extremely small men and women, visited by Captain Lemuel 
Gulliver, the hero of Swift's tale called ' Gulliver's Travels.' 

Lumber, useless things ; from Lombard, the Lombards being famous for 
money-lending. The earliest kind of banking was pawnbroking ; and 
pawnbrokers placed their pledges in the " Lombard-room," which, as it 
gradually came to contain all kinds of rubbish, came also to mean and 
to be called "lumber-room." In America, timber is called lumber. 

Meander (to), to "wind about and in and out ;" from the Maeander, a 
very winding river in the plain of Troy, in Caria, in the north-west 
of Asia Minor. 

Magnesia and Magnet, from Magnesia, a town in Thessaly, in the north 
of Greece. 

Milliner, originally a dealer in wares from Milan, a large city in the north 
of Italy, in the plain of the Po. 

Muslin, from Mosul, a town in Asiatic Turkey, on the Tigris. 

Palace, from the Latin palatium, a building on Mons Palatums, one of 
the seven hills of Rome. This building became the residence of 
Augustus and other Roman emperors ; and hence palace came to be 
the generic term for the house of a king or ruling prince. Palatinus, 
itself comes from Pales, a Roman goddess of flocks, and is connected 
with the Lat. pater, a father or feeder. 

Peach, from Lat. Persicum (malum), the Persian apple, from Persia. 
The r has been gradually absorbed. 

Pheasant, from the Phasis, a river of Colchis in Asia Minor, at the eastern 
end of the Black Sea, from which these birds were first brought. 



160 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Port, a wine from Oporto, in Portugal. (Compare Sherry from Xeres, in 

the south of Spain.) 
Rhubarb, from Rha barbarum, the wild Rha plant. Rha is an old name 

for the Volga, from the banks of which this plant was imported. 
Solecism, a blunder in the use of words ; from Soli, a town in Cilicia, 

in Asia Minor, the inhabitants of which used a mixed dialect. 
Spaniel, a sporting-dog remarkable for its sense ; from Spain. The best 

kinds are said to come from Hispaniola, an island in the West Indies, 

now called Hayti. 
Stoic, from Stoa Poikile, the Painted Porch, a porch in Athens, where 

Zeno, the founder of the Stoic School, taught hi& disciples. 
Utopian, impossible to realise ; from Utopia ( = Nowhere), the title of a 

story written by Sir Thomas More, in which he ^escribed, under the 

guise of an imaginary island, the probable state oi England, if her 

laws and customs were reformed, 



161 



WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM. 

When a word is imported from a foreign language into our 
own, there is a natural tendency among the people who use the 
word to give it a native and homely dress, and so to make it 
look like English. This is especially the case with proper 
names. Thus the walk through St James's Park from Bucking- 
ham Palace to the House of Commons was called Bocage Walk 
(that is, shrubbery walk) ; but, as Bocage was a strange word to 
the Londoner, it became quickly corrupted into Birdcage Walk, 
though there is not, and never was, any sign' of birdcages in the 
neighbourhood. Birdcage is a known word, Bocage is not — 
that is the whole matter. In the same way, our English sailors, 
when they captured the French ship BeUeropho?i, spoke of it as 
the Billy Ruffian ; and our English soldiers in India mentioned 
Surajah Dowlah, the prince who put the English prisoners into 
the Black Hole, as Si?' Roger Dowler. The same phenomenon 
is observed also in common names — and not infrequently. The 
following are some of the most remarkable examples : — 

Alligator, from Spanish el lagarto, the lizard. The article el (from Latin 
Hie) has clung to the word. Lat. lacerta, a lizard. (The Arabic 
article al has clung to the noun in alchemy, algebra, almanac, etc.) 

Artichoke (no connection with choice), from Ital. articiocco ; from Arabic 
al harshaff, an artichoke. 

Atonement, a hybrid — atone being English, and ment a Latin ending. 
Atone = to bring or come into one. Shakespeare has "Earthly things, 
made even, atone together." 

Babble, from ba and the frequentative le ; it means "to keep on saying " ba. 

Bank, a form of the word bench, a money-table. 

Belfry (nothing to do with bell), from M. E. berfray ; 0. Fr. berfroit, a 
watch-tower. 



162 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Brimstone, from burn. The r is an easily moved letter — as in three, third ; 

turn, trundle, etc. 
Bugle, properly a wild ox. Bugle, in the sense of a musical instrument, 

is really short for bugle-horn. Lat. buculus, a bullock, a diminutive 

of bos. 
Bustard, from 0. Fr. oustarde, from Lat. avis tarda, the tardy or slow 

bird. 
Butcher, from 0. Fr. bocher, a man who slaughters he-goats ; from boc, 

the French form of buck. 
Butler, the servant in charge of the butts or casks of wine. (The whole 

collection of butts was called the buttery ; a little butt is a bottle. ) 
Buxom, stout, healthy ; but in 0. E. obedient. ' ' Children, be buxom to 

your parents." Connected with bow and bough. From A. S. bugan, 

to bend ; which gives also bow, bight, boat, etc. 
Carfax, a place where four roads meet. 0. Fr. carrefourgs ; Latin quatuoar 

f ureas, four forks. 
Carouse, from German gar aus, quite out. Spoken of emptying a goblet. 
Caterpillar = hairy-cat, from 0. Fr. chate, a she-cat, and 0. Fr. pelouse, 

hairy, Lat. pilosus. Compare woolly-bear. 
Causeway (no connection with way), from Fr. chausee ; Lat. calceata via, a 

way strewed with limestone ; from Lat. calx, lime. 
Clove, through Fr. clou, from Lat. clavus, a nail, from its resemblance to 

a small nail. 
Constable, from Lat. comes stabuli, count of the stable ; hence Master of 

the Horse ; and, in the 13th century, commander of the king's army. 
Coop, a cognate of cup ; from Lat. cupa, a tub. 
Cope, a later spelling of cape. Cap, cape, and cope are forms of the same 

word. 
Costermonger, properly costard-monger ; from costard, a large apple. 
Counterpane (not at all connected with counter or with pane, but with 

quilt and point), a coverlet for a bed. The proper form is contre- 

pointe, from Low Lat. culcita puncta, a punctured quilt. 
Country-dance, (not connected with country), a corruption of the French 

contre-danse ; a dance in which each dancer stands contre or contra or 

opposite his partner. 
Coward, an animal that drops his tail. 0. Fr. col and ard ; from Lat. 

cauda, a tail. 
Crayfish, (nothing to do with fish), from 0. Fr. escrevisse. This is really 

a Frenchified form of the German word Krebs, which is the German 

form of our English word crab. The true division of the word into 

syllables is crayf-ish ; and thus the seeming connection with fish dis- 
appears. 
Custard, a misspelling of the M. E. word crustade, a general name for pies 

made with crust. 
Daisy = day's eye. Chaucer says : " The dayes eye or else the eye of 

day." 



WOKDS DISGUISED IN FORM. 163 

Dandelion = dent de lion, the lion's tooth ; so named from its jagged 
leaves. 

Dirge, a funeral song of sorrow. In the Latin service for the dead, one part 
began with the words (Ps. v. 8) dirige, Dominus meus, in conspectu 
tuo vitam meam, " Direct my life, Lord, in thy sight ; " and dirige 
was contracted into dirge. 

Drawing-room = withdrawing-room, a room to which guests retire after 
dinner. 

Dropsy (no connection with drop), from 0. Fr. hydropisce, from Gr. 
hudor, water. (Compare chirurgeon, which lias been shortened into 
surgeon; example, into sample; estate, into state.) 

Easel, a diminutive of the word ass, through the Dutch ezel ; like the 
Latin asellus. 

Farthing = fourthing. {Four appears as fir in firkin ; and as for in forty.) 

Frontispiece (not connected with piece), that which is seen or placed in 
front. Lat. specio, I see. 

Gadfly = goad-fly (sting-fly). 

Gospel = God-spell, a narrative about God. 

Grove, originally a lane cut through trees. A doublet of groove, and 
grave, from A. S. grafan, to dig. 

Haft, that by which we have or hold a thing. 

Hamper, old form, hanaper ; from Low Latin hanaperium, a large basket 
for keeping drinking-cups (hanapi) in. 

Handsel, money given into the hand ; from A. S. sellan, to give. 

Hanker, to keep the mind hanging on a thing. Er is a frequentative suffix, 
as in batter, linger, etc. 

Harbinger, a man who goes before to provide a harbour or lodging-place 
for an army. The n is intrusive, as in porringer, passenger, and mes- 
senger. (The ruins of old Roman villas were often used by English 
travellers as inns. Such places were called " Cold Harbours." There 
are seventy places of this name in England — all on the great Roman 
roads. ) 

Hatchment, the escutcheon, shield, or coat-of-arms of a deceased person, 
displayed in front of his house. A corruption (by the intrusion of h) 
of atch'ment, the short form of achievement, the old spelling of 
achievement, which is still the heraldic word for hatchment. 

Hawthorn = hedge-thorn. Haw was in 0. E. haga; and the hard g 
became a w ; and also became softened, under French influence, into 
dg. Haha, older form Hawhaw, is a sunk fence. 

Heaven, that which is heaved up ; heavy, that which requires much 
heaving. 

Horehound (not connected with hound), a plant with stems covered with 
white woolly down. The M. E. form is hoar-hune ; and the second 
syllable means scented. The syllable hoar means white, as in hoar- 
frost. The final d is excrescent or inorganic — like the d in sound, bound 
(— ready to go), etc. 



164 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Humble-bee (not connected with the adjective humble), from M. E. 
hummelen, to keep humming — a frequentative; the b being in- 
organic. 

Humble-pie (not connected with the adjective humble), pie made of 
umbles, the entrails of a deer. 

Husband, (not connected with bind), from Icelandic husbuandi, buandi, 
being the pres. participle of bua, to dwell ; and hus, house. 

Hussif (connected with house, but not with wife), a case containing needles, 
thread, etc. From Icelandic, htisi, a case, a cognate of house. The f 
is intrusive, from a mistaken opinion that the word was a short form 
of housewife. 

Hussy, a pert girl ; a corruption of housewife. 

Icicle, (the ending cle is not the diminutive) a hanging point of ice. The 
A. S. form is isgicel, a compound of is, ice, and gicel, a small piece of 
ice ; so that the word contains a redundant element. (The ic in icicle is 
entirely different from the ic in art-ic-le and in part-ic-le.) 

Intoxicate, to drug or poison ; from Low Lat. toxicum, poison ; from Gr. 
toxon, a bow, plural toxa, bow and arrows — arrows for war being fre- 
quently dipped in poison. 

Island (not connected with isle) = water-land, a misspelling for Hand (the 
spelling that Milton always uses). The s has intruded itself from a 
confusion with the Lat. insula, which gives isle. 

Jaw, properly chaw, the noun for chew. Cognates are jowl and chaps. 

Jeopardy, hazard, danger. M. E. jupartie, from 0. Fr. jeu parti, a game 
in which the chances are even, from Low Lat. jocus partltus, a divided 
game. 

Jerusalem artichoke (not at all connected with Jerusalem), a kind of sun- 
flower. Italian girasole, from Lat. gyrus, a circle, and sol, the sun. 
(In order to clench the blunder contained in the word Jerusalem, 
cooks call a soup made of this kind of artichoke "Palestine soup ! ") 

Kickshaws, from Fr. quelquechose, something. There was once a plural 
— TcicTcshawses. 

Kind, the adjective from the noun kin. 

Ledge, a place on which a thing lies. Hence also ledger. 

Line (to line garments) = to put linen inside them. {Linen is really an 
adjective from the M. E. lin, just like woollen, golden, etc.) 

Liquorice (not connected with liquor), in M. E. licoris ; from Gr. 
glykyrrhiza, a sweet root. (For the loss of the initial g, comparo 
Ipswich and Gyppensivich ; enough and genoh ; and the loss of ge 
from all the past participles of our verbs.) 

Mead, meadow = a place mowed. Hence also math, aftermath, and moth 
{ = the biter or eater). 

Nostrils = nose-thirles, nose-holes. Thirl is a cognate of thrill, drill, 
through, etc. (For change of position of r, compare turn, trundle; 
work, wright ; wort, root ; bride, bird, etc. ) 

Nuncheon, a corruption of M. E. none-schencke, or noon-drink. Then 



WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM. 165 

this word got mixed up with the provincial English word lunch, 

which means a lump of bread ; and so we have luncheon. 
Nutmeg, a hybrid compounded of an English and a French word. Meg is a 

corruption of the 0. Fr. rnusge, from Lat. museum, musk. 
Orchard = wort-yard, yard or garden for roots or plants. Wort is a 

cognate of wart and root. 
Ostrich, from Lat. avis struthio. Shakespeare spells it estridge in " Antony 

and Cleopatra," iii. 13. 197, "The dove will peck the estridge." (Avis 

is found as a prefix in bustard also. ) 
Pastime = that which enables one to pass the time.* 
Pea-jacket (not connected with pea), a short thick jacket often worn by 

seamen ; from the Dutch pije, a coarse woollen coat. Thus the 

word jacket is superfluous. In M. E. py was a coat ; and we find it 

in Chaucer combining, with a French adjective, to make the hybrid 

courtepy, a short coat. 
Peal (of bells), a short form of the word appeal ; a call or summons. 

(Compare penthouse and appentis ; sample and example; scutcheon 

and escutcheon; squire and esquire ; etc.) 
Penthouse (not connected with house), in reality a doublet of appendage, 

though not coming from it. 0. Fr. appentis, from Lat. appendicium, 

from appendix, something hanging on to. (Penderc, to hang. ) 
Periwinkle, a kind of evergreen plant ; formed, by the addition of the 

diminutive le, from Lat. pervinca, from vinclre, to bind. 
Periwinkle, a small mollusc with one valve. A corruption of the A. S. 

pinewincla, that is, a winkle eaten with a pin. 
Pickaxe (not connected with axe), a tool used in digging. A corruption 

of M. E. jockeys, from 0. Fr. picois ; and connected with peak, pike, 

and pick. 
Poach = to put in the poke, pocket, or pouch. So poached eggs are eggs 

dressed so as to keep the yoke in a pouch. Cognates are pock, small- 
pox (=pocks), etc. 
Porpoise (not connected with the verb poise) ; from Lat. porcum, a pig, 

and piscem, a fish. 
Posthumous (work), a work that appears after the death of the author ; 

from Lat. postumus, the last. The h is an error ; and the word 

has no connection with the Lat. humus, the ground. 
Privet, a half-evergreen shrub. A form of primet, a plant carefully cut and 

trimmed ; and hence prim. (For change of m into v (or p), compare 

Molly and Polly ; Matty and Patty, etc. V and p are both labials.) 
Proxy, a contraction of procuracy, the taking care of a thing for another. 

Lat. pro for, and cura, care. 
Quick, living. We have the word in quicklime, quicksand, quicksilver; 

and in the phrase " the quick and the dead.'' 
Quinsy, a bad sore throat, a contraction of 0. Fr. squinancie, formed, by 

the addition of a prefixed and strengthening s, from Gr. kynanche, a 

dog-throttling. 



166 GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 

Riding, one of the three divisions of Yorkshire. The oldest form is Trith- 

ing or Thrithing (from three and ing, part; as in farthing — fourth 

part, etc.) The t or th seems to have dropped from its similarity 

and nearness to the th in north and the t in east ; as in North-thrithing, 

East-trithing, etc. 
Sexton, a corruption of sacristan, the keeper of the sacred vessels and 

vestments ; from Lat. sacer, sacred. But the sexton is now only the 

grave-digger. (In the same way, sacristy was shortened into sextry.) 
Sheaf a collection shoved together. Shove gives also shovel; and the 

frequentatives shuffle and scuffle. 
Soup, a cognate of sop and sup. 

Splice (to join after splitting), a cognate form of split and splinter. 
Squirrel, from 0. Fr. escurel ; from Low Lat. scuriolus ; from Gr. slcia, 

a shadow, and oura, a tail. Hence the word means " shadow-tail." 
Starboard, the steering side of a ship — the right, as one stands looking to 

the bow. 
Stew, the verb corresponding to stove. 
Steward, from A. S. stiward, from the full form stigweard ; from stige, a 

sty, and weard, a keeper. Originally a person who looked after the 

domestic animals. 
Stirrup, modern form of A. S. stigrap, from stigan, to climb, and rap, a 

rope. Cognates are sty, stile, stair. 
Straight, an old past participle of stretch. (Strait is a French form of the 

word strict, from Lat. strictus, tied up.) 
Strong, a nasalised form of stark. Derivatives are strength, strengthen, 

string, etc. 
Summerset (not connected either with summer or with set), or somersault, a 

corruption of Fr. soubresault, from Lat. supra, above, and saltum, a 

leap. (There is a connection between the b and the m — the one 

sliding into the other when the speaker has a cold.) 
Surgeon (properly a hand-worker), a contraction of chirurgeon ; from 

Gr. cheir, the hand, and ergein, to work. 
Tackle, that which takes or grasps, holding the masts of a ship in their 

places. The le is the same as that in settle (a seat), girdle, etc. 
Tale, from A. S. talu, number. Derivatives are tell and till (box for 

money), but not talk, which is a Scandinavian word. 
Tansy, a tall plant, with small yellow flowers, used in medicine ; from 

0. F. athanasie ; from Gr. athanasia, immortality. 
Thorough, a doublet of through, and found in thorough- fare, thorough- 

bred, etc. (The dr, thr, or tr is also found in door, thrill, trill, drill, 

nostril, etc.) 
Treacle, from M. E. triacle, a remedy; from Lat. theriaca, an antidote 

against the bite of serpents ; from Gr. therion, a wild beast or 

poisonous animal. Milton has the phrase " the sovran trencle of 

sound doctrine." (For the position of the r. compare trundle and 

turn; brid and bird; etc.) 



WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM. 167 

Truffle, an underground edible fungus ; from Italian tartufola ; tar 
being = Lat. terra, of the ground, and tufola = tuber, a root. Trifle 
is a doublet of truffle. 

Twig, a thin branch of a tree. The tw here is the base of two, and is 
found also in twin, twilight, twice, twine ; and probably also in tweak, 
twist, twinkle, etc. {Twit is not in this class ; it comes from at- 
witan, to throw blame on.) 

Verdigris (not connected with grease), the rust of brass or copper. From 
Lat. viride aeris, the green of brass. (The g is intrusive, and has not 
yet been accounted for. ) 

"Walrus, a kind of large seal ; from Swedish vallross = a whale-horse. 
The older form of ross is found in Icelandic as hross, which is a doub- 
let of the A. S. hors. The noise made by the animal somewhat 
resembles a neigh. 

Wassail, a merry carouse ; from A. S. wes hael = Be well ! Wes is the 
imperative of wesan to be (still existing in was) ; and hael is connected 
with hail! hale (Scand.), whole (Eng.), and health. 

Whole, a misspelling, now never to be corrected, of hole, the adjective 
connected with hale, heal, health, healthy, etc. The w is probably an 
intrusion from the S.-W. of England, where they say whoam for home, 
woat for oat, etc. If we write whole, we ought also to write wholy 
instead of holy. 



168 



WORDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED 
IN MEANING. 



Abandon, to proclaim openly ; to de- 
nounce ; then to cast 0'^.t. (From Low 
Lat. bannus, an edict.) The earlier 
meaning still survives in the phrase, 
"banns of marriage." 

Admire, to wonder at. 

Allow, to praise (connected with laud). 

Amuse, to cause to muse, to occupy the 
mind of. " Camillus set upon the Gauls, 
when they were amused in receiving 
their gold," says a writer of the sixteenth 
century. 

Animosity, high spirits; from Lat. ani- 
mosus, brave. 

Artillery (great weapons of war), was used 
to include bows, crossbows, etc., down 
to the time of Milton. See P. L. ii. 715 ; 
and 1 Sam. xx. 40. 

Awkward, going the wrong way. From 
M. E. awk, contrary. "The awk end" 
was the wrong end. "With awkward 
wind " = with contrary wind. 

Babe, doll. Spenser says of a pedlar — 
" He bore a truss of trifles at his back, 
As bells, and babes, and glasses in his 
pack." 

Blackguard, the band of lowest kitchen 
servants, who had to look after the spits, 
pots, and pans, etc. 

Bombast (an inflated and pompous style 
of speaking or writing), cotton-wadding. 

Boor (a rough unmannerly fellow), a tiller 
of the soil; from the Dutch boawen, to 



till. (Compound neighbour.) In South 
Africa, a farmer is still called a boer. 

Brat (a contemptuous name for a child), 
a Celtic word meaning rag. In Wales 
it now means a -pinafore. 

Brave, showy, splendid. 

By-and-by, at once. 

Carpet, the covering of tables as well as 
of floors. 

Carriage (that which carries) meant for- 
merly that which was carried, or bag- 
gage. See Acts xxi. 15. 

Cattle, a doublet of chattels, property. 
Lat. capitalia, heads (of oxen, etc.) 
Chaucer says, " The avaricious man hath 
more hope in his catel than in Christ." 

Censure (blame) meant merely opinion ; 
from the Lat. censeo, I think. Shake- 
speare, in Hamlet i. 3. 69, makes Polon- 
ius say: " Take each man's censure, but 
reserve thy judgment." 

Charity (almsgiving) meant love; from 
Lat. carus, dear, through the French. 

Cheat (to deceive for the purpose of gain) 
meant to seize upon a thing as escheated 
or forfeited. 

Cheer, face. " Be of good cheer " = " Put 
a good face upon it." " His cheer fell " 
= "His countenance fell." 

Churl (an uncourteous or disobliging per- 
son) meant a countryman. Der. chur- 
lish. (Shakespeare also uses the word 
in the sense of a miser.) 



WOKDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED IN MEANING. 169 



Clumsy, stiff with cold. "When thou 
clomsest with cold," says Langland (14th 
century) = art benumbed. (Cognates, 
clamp, cramp.) 

Companion, low fellow. Shakespeare has 
such phrases as " Companions, hence !" 

Conceit (too high an opinion of one's self) 
meant simply thought. Chaucer was 
called "a conceited clerk " = "a learned 
man full of thoughts." From Lat. con- 
ceptus, a number of facts brought to- 
gether into one general conception or 
idea. Shakespeare has the phrase " pass- 
ing all conceit " = beyond all thought. 

Count (to number) meant to think (2 
with 3, &c.) with ; from Lat. compido, 
I compute or think with. Count is a 
doublet, through French, of compute. 

Cunning, able or skilled. Like the word 
craft, it has lost its innocent sense. 

Danger, jurisdiction, legal power over. 
The Duke of Venice says to the Mer- 
chant, "You stand within his danger, 
do you not? " M. V. iv. 1. 180. 

Defy, to pronounce all bonds of faith 
dissolved. Lat. fides, faith. 

Delicious, too scrupulous or finical. A 
writer of the seventeenth century says 
that idleness makes even " the sober- 
est (most moderate) men delicious." 

Depart, part or divide. The older version 
of the Prayer-Book has "till death us 
depart " (now corrupted into do part). 

Disaster, an unfavourable star. A term 
from the old astrology. 

Disease, discomfort, trouble. Shakespeare 
has, " She will disease our bitter mirth ; " 
and Tyndale's version of Mark v. 35, is, 
"Thy daughter is dead: why diseasest 
thou the Master any further ? " 

Duke, leader. Hannibal was called in old 
English writers, " Duke of Carthage." 

Ebb, shallow. "Cross the stream where 
it is ebbest," is a Lancashire proverb. 
(The word is a cognate of even.) 

Essay, an attempt. The old title of such 
a book was not " Essay on " but " Essay 
at." From Lat. exagium, a weighing. 



An older form is Assay. Shakespeare ha» 
such phrases as "the assay of arms." 

Explode, to drive out by clapping of the 
hands. The opposite of applaud. Lat. 
plaudo, I clap my hands. 

Explosion, a hissing a thing off the stage. 

Firmament, that which makes firm or 
strong. Jeremy Taylor (seventeenth 
century) says, " Custom is the firma- 
ment of the law." 

Fond, foolish. The past participle of 
A. S. fonnan, to act foolishly. 

Frightful, full of fear. (Compare the old 
meaning of dreadful.) 

Garble, to sift or cleanse. Low Lat. 
garbellare, to sift eorn. 

Garland, a king's crown ; now a wreath of 
flowers. 

Gazette (Italian), a magpie. Hence the 
Ital. gazettare, to chatter like a magpie; 
to write tittle-tattle. (It was also the 
name of a very small coin, current in 
Venice, etc.) 

Generous, high-born. Lat. genus, race. 
Compare the phrases " a man of family ; " 
" a man of rank." Shakespeare has " the 
generous citizens" for those of high 
birth. 

Gossip, sib or related in God ; a godfather 
or godmother. It now means such per- 
sonal talk as usually goes on among such 
persons. (Compare the French commert 
and commerage.) 

Handsome, clever with the hands. 

Harbinger, a person who prepared a har- 
bour or lodging. 

Heathen, a person who lives on a heath. 
(Cf. pagan, person who lives in a pagus, 
or country district.) 

Hobby, an easy ambling nag. 

Idiot (Gr. idibtes), a private person ; a 
person who kept aloof from public busi- 
ness. Cf. idiom; idiosyncrasy ; etc. 

Imp, an engrafted shoot. Chaucer says : 
" Of feeble trees there comen wretched 

impes." 
Spenser has " Well worthy impe." 



170 



GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 



Impertinent, not pertaining to the 
matter in hand. 

Indifferent, impartial. "God is indiffer- 
ent to all. " 

Insolent, unusual. An old writer praises 
Raleigh's poetry as "insolent and pas- 
sionate." 

Kind, horn, inborn ; natural ; and then 
loving. 

Knave, boy. "A knave child " = a male 
child. Sir John Mandeville speaks of 
Mahomet as "a poure knave." 

Lace, a snare. Lat. laqxieus, a noose. 

Livery, that which is given or delivered, 
Fr. livrer; from Lat. liberare, to free. 
It was applied both to food and to 
clothing. ' 'A horse at livery " still means 
a horse not merely kept, but also fed. 

Magnificent, doing great things ; large- 
minded. Bacon says, " Bounty and 
magnificence are virtues very regal." 

Maker, a poet. 

Manure, to work with the hand ; a doublet 
of manoeuvre. (Lat. manus, the hand.) 

Mere, utter. Lat. merus.pure. Shakespeare, 
in "Othello," speaks of "the mere per- 
dition of the Turkish fleet." "Mere 
wine " was unmixed wine. 

Metal, a mine. 

Minute, something very small. Lat. min- 
utus, made small ; from minus, less. 
Cognates, minor; minish; diminish; etc. 

Miscreant, an unbeliever. Lat. mis (from 
mimes), and credo, I believe; through 
O. Fr. mescre'ant. 

Miser, a wretched person. Lat. miser, mis- 
erable. 
Nephew, a grandchild. (Lat. nepos.) 

Nice, too scrupulous or fastidious. Shake- 
speare, in " K. John," iii. 4. 138, says — 
" He that stands upon a slippery place, 
Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him 
up." 

Niece, a grandchild. Lat. neptis. 

Novelist, an innovator. 



Offal, that which is allowed to fall off. 

Officious, obliging. In modern diplomacy, 
an official communication is one made 
in the way of business ; an officious com- 1 
munication is a friendly and irregular 
one. Burke, in the eighteenth century, I 
speaks of the French nobility as " very 
officious and hospitable." 

Ostler = hosteller. The keeper of a hostel 
or hotel. (A comic derivation is that it 
is a contraction of oatstealer). 

Painful, painstaking. Fuller, in the seven- \ 
teen th century, speaks of Joseph as "a : 
painful carpenter." 

Palliate, to throw a cloak over. Lat. pal- 
lium, a cloak. 

Pencil, a small hair brush. Lat. penecillus, 
a little tail. 

Peevish, obstinate. 

Perspective, a glass for seeing either near 
or distant things. 

Pester, to encumber or clog. From Low 
Lat. pastorium, a clog for horses in a 
pasture. 

Plantation, a colony of men planted. 

Plausible, having obtained applause. 
"Every one received him plausibly," 
says a seventeenth-century writer. 

Polite, polished. A seventeenth-century 
writer has "polite bodies as looking- 



Pomp, a procession. 

Preposterous, putting the last first. Lat. 
pros, before ; and post, after. 

Prevaricate, to reverse, to shuffle. Lat. 
prcevaricari, to spread the legs apart 
in walking. 

Prevent, to go before. Lat. prcv, before, 
and venio, I come. The Prayer-Book lias, 
" Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings." 

Prodigious, ominous. "A prodigious 
meteor," meant a meteor of bad omen. 

Punctual, attending to small points of 
detail. Lat. pvnetum ; Fr. point. 



WORDS THAT HAVE GREATLY CHANGED IN MEANING. 171 



Qunint, skilful. Prospero, in the "Tem- 
pest," calls Ariel " My quaiut Ariel ! " 

Racy, having the strong and native qual- 
ities of the race. Cowley says of a poet 
that he is — 

" Fraught with brisk racy verses, in 

which we 
The soil from whence they come, taste, 
smell, and see." 

Reduce, to lead back. 

Resent, to be fully sensible of. Resent- 
ment, grateful recognition of. 

Restive, obstinate, inclined to rest or 
stand still. "To turn rusty" (=resty) 
is to turn obstinate. 

Retaliate, to give back benefits as well as 
injuries. 

Room, space, place at table. Luke xiv. 8. 

Rummage, to make room. 

Sad, earnest. 

Sash, a turban. 

Secure, free from care. Ben Jonson says : 
" Men may securely sin ; but safely, 
never." 

Sheen, bright, pure. Connected with 
shine. 

Shrew, a wicked or hurtful person. 

Silly, blessed. 

Sincerity, absence of foreign admixture. 

Soft, sweetly reasonable. 

Spices, kinds — a doublet of species. (A 
grocer in French is called an epicier.) 

Starve, to die. Chaucer says, "Jesus 
starved upon the cross." 

Sycophant, "a fig-shower" or informer 
against a person who smuggled figs. Gr. 
sukon, a fig ; and phaino, I show. 

Table, a picture. 



Tarpaulin, a sailor ; from the tarred 
canvas suit he wore. Now shortened 
into tar. 

Thews, habits, manners. 

Thought, deep sorrow, anxiety. Matthew 
vi. 25. In "Julius Caesar," ii. 1. 187, we 
find, " Take thought, and die for Caesar. " 

Trivial, very common. Lat. trivia, a 
place where three roads meet. 

Tuition, guardianship. Lat. tuitio, look- 
ing at. 

Uncouth, unknown. 

Union, oneness ; or a pearl in which size, 
roundness, smoothness, purity, lustre, 
were united. See "Hamlet," v. 2.283. 
A doublet is onion — so called from its 
shape. 

Unkind, unnatural. 

Urbane, liviDg in a city. Lat. urbs, a 

city. 

Usury, money paid for the use of a thing. 

Varlet, a serving-man. Low Lat. vassa- 
lettus, a minor vassal. Varlet and valet 
are diminutives of vassal. 

Vermin was applied to noxious animals 
of whatever size. " The crocodile is 
a dangerous vermin." Lat. vermis, a 
worm. 

Villain, a farm-servant. Lat. villa, a farm. 

Vivacity, pertinacity in living ; longevity. 
Fuller speaks of a man as " most remark- 
able for his vivacity, for he lived 140 
years." 

Wit, knowledge, mental ability. 

"Worm, a serpent. 

Worship, to consider worth, to honour. 

Wretched, wicked. A. S. wrecca, an out- 
cast. 



PART II. 

COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, PARAPHRASING, 
AND PROSODY. 



175 



HINTS ON COMPOSITION. 

1. Composition is the art of putting sentences together. 

(i). Any one can make a sentence ; but every one cannot make a sen- 
tence that is both clear and neat. We all speak and write sentences 
every day ; but these sentences may be neat or they may be clumsy — 
they may be pleasant to read, or they may be dull and heavy. 

(ii) Sir Arthur Helps says : " A sentence should be powerful in its 
substantives, choice and discreet in its adjectives, nicely correct in its 
verbs ; not a word that could be added, nor one which the most fastid- 
ious would venture to suppress ; in order, lucid ; in sequence, logical ; 
in method, perspicuous." 

2. The manner in which we put our sentences together is 
called style. That style may be good or bad; feeble or vigorous; 
clear or obscure. The whole purpose of style, and of studying 
style, is to enable us to present our thoughts to others in a clear, 
forcible, and yet graceful way. 

"Style is but the order and the movement that we put into our 
thoughts. If we bind them together closely, compactly, the style be- 
comes firm, nervous, concise. If they are left to follow each other 
negligently, the style will be diffuse, slipshod, and insipid." — Buffon. 

3. Good composition is the result of three things : (i) clear 
thinking ; (ii) reading the best and most vigorous writers ; and 
(iii) frequent practice in writing, along with careful polishing of 
what we have written. 

(i) "We ought to read diligently in the best poets, historians, and 
essayists, — to read over and over again what strikes us as finely or nobly 
or powerfully expressed, — to get by heart the most striking passages in 
a good author. This kind of study will give us a large stock of appro- 
priate words and striking phrases ; and we shall never be at a loss for 
the right words to express our own sense. 



176 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

Ben Jonson says : " For a man to write well, there are required 
three necessaries : let him read the best authors ; observe the best 
speakers ; and have much exercise of his own style." 

(ii) " My mother forced me, by steady daily toil, to learn long chapters 
of the Bible by heart ; as well as to read it every syllable through, aloud, 
hard names and all, from Genesis to the Apocalypse, about once a-year : 
and to that discipline, — patient, accurate, and resolute, — I owe, not only 
a knowledge of the book, but much of my general power of taking pains, 
and the best part of my taste in literature." — John Ruskin. 

(iii) But, though much reading of the best books and a great deal of 
practice in composition are the only means to attain a good and vigorous 
style, there are certain directions — both general and special — which may 
be of use to the young student, when he is beginning. 



GENEEAL DIEECTIONS. 

4. "We must know the subject fully about which we are going 

to write. 

(i) If we are going to tell a story, we must know all the circumstances ; 
the train of events that led up to the result ; the relations of the persons 
in the story to each other ; what they said ; and the outcome of the 
whole at the close. These considerations guide us to 

Practical Rule I. — Draw up on a piece of paper a short 
skeleton of what you are going to write about. 

(i) Archbishop Whately says : "The more briefly this is done, so that 
it does but exhibit clearly the heads of the composition, the better ; be- 
cause it is important that the whole of it be placed before the eye and 
mind in a small compass, and be taken in, as it were, at a glance ; and it 
should be written, therefore, not in sentences, but like a table of contents. 
Such an outline should not be allowed to fetter the writer, if, in the 
course of the actual composition, he find any reason for deviating from 
his original plan, — it should serve merely as a track to mark out a path 
for him, not as a groove to confine him." 

(ii) Cobbett says : " Sit down to write what you have thought, and 
not to think what you shall write." 

5. Our sentences must be written in good English. 

Good English is simply the English of the best writers ; and we can 
only learn what it is by reading the books of these writers. Good writers 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 177 

of the present century are such authors as Charles Lamb, Jane Austen, 
Scott, Coleridge, Landor, Macaulay, Thackeray, Dickens, Matthew 
Arnold, Froude, Ruskin, and George Eliot. 

6. Our sentences must be written in pure English. 

(i) This rule forbids the use of obsolete or old-fashioned words, such 
as erst, peradventure, hight, beholden, vouchsafe, methinks, etc. 

(ii) It forbids also the use of slang expressions, such as awfully, jolly, 
rot, bosh, smell a rat, see with half an eye, etc. 

(iii) It forbids the employment of technical terms, unless these are 
absolutely necessary to express our meaning ; and this is sure to be the 
case in a paper treating on a scientific subject. But technical terms in 
an ordinary piece of writing, such as quantitative, connotation, anent, 
chromatic, are quite out of place. 

(iv) In obedience to this rule, we ought also carefully to avoid the use 
of foreign words and phrases. Affectation of all kinds is disgusting •, 
and it both looks and is affected to use such words as confrere, raison 
d'etre, amour propre, conge, etc. 

(v) This recommendation also includes the Practical Rule : " When 
an English-English (or 'Saxon') and a Latin-English word offer them- 
selves, we had better choose the Saxon." 

(vi) The following is from an article by Leigh Hunt : "In the Bible 
there are no Latinisms ; and where is the life of our language to be 
found in such perfection as in the translation of the Bible ? We will 
venture to affirm that no one is master of the English language who is not 
well read in the Bible, and sensible of its peculiar excellences. It is the 
pure well of English. The taste which the Bible forms is not a taste 
for big words, but a taste for the simplest expression or the clearest 
medium of presenting ideas. Remarkable it is that most of the sublimities 
in the Bible are conveyed in monosyllables. For example, ' Let there be 
light : and there was light. ' Do these words want any life that Latin 
could lend them ? . . . The best styles are the freest from Latinisms ; 
and it may be almost laid down as a rule that a good writer will never 
have recourse to a Latinism if a Saxon word will equally serve his purpose. 
We cannot dispense with words of Latin derivation; but there should 
be the plea of necessity for resorting to them, or we wrong our English." 

(vii) Ab the same time, it must not be forgotten that we very often 
are compelled by necessity to use Latin words. Even Leigh Hunt, in 
the above passage, has been obliged to do so while declaiming against it. 
This is apparent from the number of words printed in italics, all of 
which are derived from Latin. This is most apparent in the phrase 
equally serve his purpose, which we could not now translate into " pure " 
English. 



178 



COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 



7. Our sentences must be written in accurate English. 
That is, the words used must he appropriate to the sense we 
wish to convey. Accuracy is the virtue of using "the right 
word in the right place." 

(i) " The attempt was found to be impracticable." Now, impracticable 
means impossible of accomplishment. Any one may attempt anything; 
carrying it out is a different thing. The word used should have been 
design or plan. 

(ii) "The veracity of the statement was called in question." Veracity 
is the attribute of a person ; not of a statement. 

(iii) Accurate English can only be attained by the careful study of the 
different shades of meaning in words ; by the constant comparison of 
synonyms. Hence we may lay down the 

Practical Rule II. — Make a collection of synonyms, and 
compare the meanings of each couple (i) in a dictionary, and 
(ii) in a sentence. 

The following are a few, the distinctions between which are 
very apparent : — 



Abstain 


Forbear. 


Custom 


Habit. 


Active 


Diligent. 


Delay 


Defer. 


Aware 


Conscious. 


Difficulty 


Obstacle. 


Character 


Reputation. 


Strong 


Powerful. 


Circumstance 


Event. 


Think 


Believe. 



8. Our sentences should be perfectly clear. That is, the 
reader, if he is a person of ordinary common-sense, should not 
be left for a moment in doubt as to our meaning. 

(i) A Roman writer on style says : " Care should be taken, not that 
the reader may understand if he will, but that he shall understand 
whether he will or not." 

(ii) Our sentences should be as clear as " mountain water flowing over 
a rock." They should " economise the reader's attention." 

(iii) Clearness is gained by being simple, and by being brief. 

(iv) Simplicity teaches us to avoid (a) too learned words, and (6/ 
roundabout ways of mentioning persons and things. 

(a) We ought, for example, to prefer — 
Abuse to Vituperation. Neighbourhood to Vicinity. 

Begin m Commence. Trustworthy m Reliable. 

Commence m Initiate. Welcome n Reception. 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 179 

(6) We ought to avoid such stale and hackneyed phrases as the 
"Swan of Avon" for Shakespeare; the "Bard of Florence" for 
Dante ; " the Great Lexicographer " for Dr Johnson. 

(v) Brevity enjoins upon us the need of expressing our meaning in as 
few words as possible. 

Opposed to brevity is verbosity, or wordiness. Pope says — 

" Words are like leaves ; and, where they most abound, 
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found." 

(vi) Dr Johnson says : " Tediousness is the most fatal of all faults." 

9. Our sentences should be written in flowing English. 
That is, the rhythm of each sentence ought to be pleasant to 
the ear, if read aloud. This axiom gives rise to two rules : — 

Practical Rule III. — Write as you would speak ! 

(i) This, of course, points to an antecedent condition — that you must 
be a good reader. Good reading aloud is one of the chief conditions of 
good writing. " Living speech," says a philosophic writer, " is the cor- 
rective of all style." 

Practical Rule IV. — After we have written our piece of com- 
position, we should read it aloud either to ourselves or to some 
one else. 

Thus, and thus only, shall we be able to know whether each sentence 

has an agreeable rhythm. 

Practical Rule V. — " Never write about any matter you do 
not well understand. If you clearly understand all about your 
matter, you will never want thoughts ; and thoughts instantly 
become words." — Cobbett. 

" Seek not for words ; seek only fact and thought. 
And crowding in will come the words, unsought." — Horace. 

" Know well your subject ; and the words will go 
To the pen's point, with steady, ceaseless flow." — Pentland. 

10. Our sentences should be compact. 

(i) That is, they ought not to be loose collections of words, but firm, 
well-knit, nervous organisms. 

(ii) A sentence in which the complete sense is suspended till the close 
is called a period. Contrasted with it is the loose sentence. 



180 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

(a) Loose Sentence. — The Puritans looked down with contempt on 

the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests. 

(b) Period. — On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests 

the Puritans looked down with contempt. 

(iii) The following is a fine example of a loose sentence : " Notwith- 
standing his having gone, in winter, to Moscow, where he found the cold 
excessive, and which confined him, without intermission, six weeks to 
his room, we could not induce him to come home." This no more 
makes a sentence than a few cartloads of bricks thrown loosely upon the 
ground constitute a house. 



EMPHASIS. 

One object in style is to call the attention of the reader in a 
forcible and yet agreeable way to the most important parts of 
our subject — in other words, to give emphasis to what is 
emphatic, and to make what is striking and important strike the 
eye and mind of the reader. This purpose may be attained in 
many different ways; but there are several easy devices that 
will be found of use to us in our endeavour to give weight and 
emphasis to what we write. These are : — 

1. The ordinary grammatical order of the words in a sentence 
may be varied ; and emphatic words may be thrown to the 
beginning or to the end of the sentence. This is the device 
of Inversion. 

Thus we have, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord." " Jesus I know, and Paul I know : but who are ye ? " " Some 
he imprisoned ; others he put to death." " Go he must ! " " Do it he 
shall!" "They could take their rest, for they knew Lord Strafford 
watched. Him they feared, him they trusted, him they obeyed." " He 
that tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he undertakes ; for, to 
maintain one, he must invent twenty more." In the last sentence, the 
phrase to maintain one gains emphasis by being thrown out of its 
usual and natural position. But 

Caution 1. — Do not go out of your way to invert. It has a 
look of affectation. Do not say, for example, "True it is," or 
"Of Milton it was always said," etc. And do not begin an 
essay thus : " Of all the vices that disfigure and degrade," etc. 



EMPHASIS. 18 j 

2. The Omission of Conjunctions gives force and emphasis. 

Thus Hume writes : " He rushed amidst them with his sword 
drawn, threw them into confusion, pushed his advantage, and gained a 
complete victory." We may write : "You say this ; I deny it." 

3. The use of the Imperative Mood gives liveliness and 
emphasis. 

Thus we find the sentence : " Strip virtue of the awful authority 
she derives from the general reverence of mankind, and you rob her of 
half her majesty." Here strip is equal to If you strip ; but is much 
more forcible. 

4. Emphasis is also gained by employing the Interrogative 
Form. 

(i) Thus, to say " Who does not hope to live long ? " is much more 
forcible and lively than "All of us hope to live long." 

(ii) This is a well-known form in all impassioned speech. Thus, in 
the Bible we find : " Your fathers, where are they ? And the prophets, 
do they live for ever ? " 

5. The device of Exclamation may also be employed to give 
emphasis ; but it cannot be frequently used, without danger of 
falling into affectation. 

Thus Shakespeare, instead of making Hamlet say, " Man is a wonder- 
ful piece of work," etc. — which would be dull and flat — writes, "What 
a piece of work is man ! " etc. 

6. Emphasis may be gained by the use of the device of 
Periphrasis. 

(i) Thus, instead of saying "John built this house," or "This house 
was built by John," we can say : " It was John who built this house ;" 
" It was no other than John who," etc. 

7. Repetition is sometimes a powerful device for producing 
emphasis ; but, if too frequently employed, it becomes a tire- 
some mannerism. 

(i) Macaulay is very fond of this device. He says : " Tacitus tells a 
fine story finely, but he cannot tell a plain story plainly. He stimulates 
till stimulants lose their power." Again: "He aspired to the highest 
— above the people, above the authorities, above the laws, above his 
country." 



182 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

(ii) Its effect in poetry is sometimes very fine : — 

" By foreign hands thy dying eyes were closed ; 
By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed ; 
By foreign hands thy humble grave adorned ; 
By strangers honoured, and by strangers mourned." 

8. The device of Suspense adds to the weight and emphasis 
of a statement ; it keeps the attention of the reader on the 
stretch, because he feels the sense to be incomplete. 

(i) The suspense in the following sentence gives a heightened idea of 
the difficulty of travelling : " At last, with no small difficulty, and 
after much fatigue, we came, through deep roads, storms of wind and 
rain, and bad weather of all kinds, to our journey's end." 

(ii) This device is frequent in poetry. Thus Keats opens his " Hy- 
perion " in this way : — 

" Deep in the shady sadness of a vale, 
Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn, 
Far from the fiery noon and eve's one star — 
Sat grey-haired Saturn, quiet as a stone." 

Here the verb is kept to the last line, 

9. Antithesis always commands attention, and is therefore a 
powerful mode of emphasising a statement. But antithesis is 
not always at one's command ; and it must not be strained after. 

Macaulay employs this device with great effect. He has : " The 
Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but 
because it gave pleasure to the spectators." Swift was very fond of it. 
Thus he says : " The two maxims of a great man at court are, always to 
keep his countenance, and never to keep his word." Dr Johnson has 
this sentence : " He was a learned man among lords, and a lord among 
learned men." " He twice forsook his party ; his principles never." 

10. A very sharp, sudden, and unexpected antithesis is called 
an Epigram. 

(i) Thus Lord Bacon, speaking of a certain procession in Rome, says that 
"The statues of Brutus and Cassius were conspicuous by their absence." 
Macaulay says of the dirt and splendour of the Russian Ambassadors : 
"They came to the English Court dropping pearls and vermin." 

(ii) The following are additional instances of truths put in a very 
striking and epigrammatic way : " Verbosity is cured by a large vocab- 
ulary " (because when you have a large stock of words, you will be 
able to choose the fittest). " "We ought to know something of every- 
thing, and everything of something." " He was born of poor but dis- 
honest parents." "When you have nothing to say, say it." "He 



DISTINCTNESS OF STYLE. 183 

had nothing to do, and he did it." "The better is the enemy of the 
good." " One secret in education," says Herbert Spencer, " is to know- 
how wisely to lose time." "Make haste slowly." "They did nothing 
in particular ; and did it very well." 

(iii) - But no one should strain after such a style of writing. Such an 
attempt would only produce smartness, which is a fatal vice. 



DISTINCTNESS OF STYLE. 

1. One great secret of a good and striking style is the art of 
Specification. 

Professor Bain gives us an excellent example of a vague and gen- 
eral, as opposed to a distinct and specific style : — 

(a) Vague. — "In proportion as the manners, customs, and amuse- 
ments of a nation are cruel and barbarous, the regulation of their 
penal codes will be severe. " 

(6) Specific. — "According as men delight in battles, bull-fights, and 
combats of gladiators, so will they punish by hanging, burning, 
and crucifying." 

2. Specification or distinctness of style may be attained in 
two ways : (i) by the use of concrete terms ; and (ii) by the 
use of detail. 

3. A concrete or particular term strikes botb the feelings 
and imagination with greater force than an abstract or general 
term can do. 

(i) Let us make a few contrasts : — 

Abstract. Concrete. 

Quadruped. Horse. 

Building materials. Bricks and mortar. 

Old age. Grey hairs. 

Warlike weapons. Sword and gun. 

Rich and poor. The palace and the cottage. 

A miserable state. -A-ge, ache, and penury. 

" I have neither the necessaries " I have not a crust of bread, 

of life, nor the means of pro- nor a penny to buy one." 

curing them." 

(ii) Campbell says : " The more general the terms are, the picture is 
the fainter; the more special, the brighter." "They sank like lead in 
the mighty waters " is more forcible than " they sank like metal." 



184 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

4. Details enable the reader to form in his mind a vivid pic- 
ture of the event narrated or the person described ; and, before 
beginning to write, we ought always to draw up a list of such 
details as are both striking and appropriate — such details as 
tend to throw into stronger relief the chief person or event. 

The following is a good example from the eloquent writer and 
profound thinker Edmund Burke. He is speaking of the philanthro- 
pist Howard : — 

" He has visited all Europe to dive into the depths of dungeons ; to plunge 
into the infections of hospitals ; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain ; 
to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt ; to 
remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, amd 
to compare and collate the distresses of all men in all countries." 



GENEKAL CAUTIONS. 

L Avoid the use of threadbare and hackneyed expressions,. 
Leave them to people who are in a hurry, or to penny-a-liners. 

Instead of Writk 

At the expiration of four years. At the end, etc. 

Paternal sentiments. The feelings of a father. 

Exceedingly opulent. Very rich. 

Incur the danger. Run the risk. 

Accepted signification. Usual meaning. 

Extreme felicity. Great happiness. 

A sanguinary engagement. A bloody battle. 

In the affirmative. Yes. 

2. Be very careful in the management of pronouns. 

(i) Cobbett says : " Never put an it upon paper without thinking 
well what you are about. When I see many it's in a page, I always 
tremble for the writer." See also 2 Kings, xix. 35 : "And when they 
arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses." 

(ii) Bolingbroke has the sentence : "They were persons of very moder- 
ate intellects, even before they were impaired by their passions." The 
last they ought to be these. 

(iii) The sentence, " He said to his patient that if he did not feel 
better in half an hour, he thought he had better return," is a clumsy 
sentence, but clear enough ; because we can easily see that it is tb.9 
patient that is to take the advice. 



SPECIAL CAUTIONS. 185 

3. Be careful not to use mixed metaphors. 

(i) The following is a fearful example : " This is the arrow of convic- 
tion, which, like a nail driven in a sure place, strikes its roots downwards 
into the earth, and bears fruit upwards." 

(ii) Sir Boyle Roche, an Irish member, began a speech thus: "Mr 
Speaker, I smell a rat, I see him floating in the air ; but, mark me, 
I shall yet nip him in the bud." A similar statement is : " Lord Kim- 
berley said that in taking a very large bite of the Turkish cherry the 
way had been paved for its partition at no distant day." 

4. Be simple, quiet, manly, frank, and straightforward in 
your style, as in your conduct. That is : Be yourself I 



SPECIAL CAUTIONS. 

1. Avoid tautology. 

Alison says : " It was founded mainly on the entire monopoly of 
the lohole trade with the colonies." Here entire and whole are tauto- 
logical ; for monopoly means entire possession, or possession of the whole. 
"He appears to enjoy the universal esteem of all men." Here universal 
is superfluous. 

2. Place the adverb as near the word it modifies as you 

can. 

" He not only found her employed, but also pleased and tranquil." 
The not only belongs to employed, and should therefore go with it. 

3. Avoid circumlocution. 

"Her Majesty, on reaching Perth, partook of breakfast." This 
should be simply breakfasted.. But the whole sentence should be recast 
into : " On reaching Perth, the Queen breakfasted in the station." 

4. Take care that your participles are attached to nouns, and 

that they do not run loose. 

"Alarmed at the news, the boat was launched at once." Here 
alarmed can, grammatically, agree with boat only. The sentence 
should be : " The men, alarmed at the news, launched their boat at 
once. " 

5. Use a present participle as seldom as possible. 

(i) " I have documents proving this " is not so strong as " to prove 
this." 



186 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

(ii) " He dwelt a long time on the advantages of swift steamers, thus 
accounting for the increase," etc. The phrase " thus accounting " is very- 
loose. Every sentence ought to be neat, firm, and compact. 

6. Remember that who = and he or for he ; while that 
introduces a merely adjectival clause. 

" I heard it from the doctor, who told the gardener that-works-for- 
the-college." Here who — and he; and that introduces the adjectival 
sentence. 

7. Do not change the Subject of your Sentence. 

(i) Another way of putting this is : " Preserve the unity of the 
sentence ! " 

(ii) "Archbishop Tillotson died in this year. He was exceedingly 
beloved both by King William and Queen Mary, who nominated Dr 
Tenison to succeed him." The last statement about nominating another 
bishop has no natural connection with what goes before. 

(iii) " After we came to anchor, they put me on shore, where I was 
welcomed by all my friends, who received me with the greatest kind- 
ness." This sentence ought to be broken into two. The first should 
end with on shore; and the second begin "Here I was met and, etc." 

8. See that who or which refers to its proper antecedent. 

" Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a yeoman, 
to whom he left his second-best bed." Here the grammatical antece- 
dent is yeoman; but the historical and sense-antecedent is certainly 
daughter. 

9. Do not use and which for which. 

(i) " I bought him a very nice book as a present, and which cost me 
ten shillings." The and is here worse than useless. 

(ii) If another which has preceded, of course and which is right. 

10. Avoid exaggerated or too strong language. 

Unprecedented, most extraordinary, incalculable, boundless, extremely, 
awfully, scandalous, stupendous, should not be used unless we know that 
they are both true and appropriate. 

11. Be careful not to mix up dependent with principal 
sentences. 

" He replied that he wished to help them, and intended to give 
orders to his servants." Here it is doubtful whether intended is co- 
ordinate with replied or with wished. If the former is the case, tHn 
we ought to say he intended. 



PUNCTUATION. 187 

12. Be very careful about the right position of each phrase 
or clause in your sentence. 

The following are curious examples of dislocations or misplace- 
ments ; " A piano for sale by a lady about to cross the Channel in an 
oak case with carved legs." "I believe that, when he died, Cardinal 
Mezzofanti spoke at least fifty languages." " He blew out his brains 
after bidding his wife good-bye with a gun." " Erected to the memory 
of John Phillips, accidentally shot, as a mark of affection by his 
brother." " The Board has resolved to erect a building large enough 
to accommodate 500 students three storeys high." "Mr Carlyle has 
taught us that silence is golden in thirty-seven volumes." 



PUNCTUATION. 

2. Certain signs, called points, are used in sentences to mark 
off their different parts, and to show the relation of each part to 
the organic whole. 

(i) Putting in the right points is called punctuation, from the Latin 
punctum, a point. From the same word come punctual and punctuality. 

2. These points are the full stop, the colon, the semicolon, 
the dash, and the comma. 

3. The full stop (.) or period marks the close of a sentence. 

4. The colon ( : ) introduces (i) a new statement that may 
"be regarded as an after-thought ; or (ii) it introduces a cata- 
logue of things • or (iii) it introduces a formal speech. 

(The word colon is Greek, and means limb or member.) 

(i) " Study to acquire a habit of accurate expression : no study is 
more important." 

(ii) " Then follow excellent parables about fame : as that she gathereth 
strength in going ; that she goeth upon the ground, and yet hideth her 
head in the clouds ; that in the day-time she sitteth in a watch-tower, 
and flieth most by night." — Bacon. 

(iii) " Mr Wilson rose and said : 'Sir, I am sorry,' etc." 

5. The semicolon is employed when, for reasons of sound or 
of sense, two or more simple sentences are thrown into one. 

(Semicolon is Greek, and means half a colon.) 

(i) " In the youth of a state, arms do nourish ; in the middle age of 



188 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

a state, learning ; and then both of them together for a time ; in the 
declining age of a state, mechanical arts and merchandise/' — Bacon. 

(ii) Learn from the birds what foods the thickets yield ; 
Learn from the beasts the physic of the field ; 
Thy arts of building from the bee receive ; 
Learn of the mole to plough, the worm to weave." — Pope. 

8. The dash is used (i) to introduce an amplification or ex- 
planation ; and (ii) two dashes are often employed in place of 
the old parenthesis. 

(i) " During the march a storm of rain, thunder, and lightning came 
on — a storm such as is only seen in tropical countries. " 

(ii) " Ribbons, buckles, buttons, pieces of gold-lace — any trifles he had 
worn — were stored as priceless treasures." 

7. The comma is used to indicate a strong pause, either of 
sense or of sound. 

(i) It is true that the comma is the weakest of all our stops ; but 
there are many pauses which we ought to make in reading a sentence 
aloud that are not nearly strong enough to warrant a comma. 

(ii) It is better to understop rather than to overstop. For example, 
the last part of the last sentence in the paragraph above might have 
been printed thus : " there are many pauses, which we ought to make, 
in reading a sentence aloud, that are not nearly strong enough to war- 
rant a comma." This is the old-fashioned style ; but such sprinkling of 
commas is not at all necessary. 

(iii) Two things are all that are required to teach us the use of a 
comma : (a) observation of the custom of good writers ; and (6) careful 
consideration of the sense and build of our own sentences. 

(iv) The following are a few special uses of the comma :— 
(a) It may be used in place of and : — 

" We first endure, then pity, then embrace.'* 
(6) After an address : " John, come here. " 

(c) After certain introductory adverbs, as however, at length, at 
last, etc. " He came, however, in time to catch the train." 

8. The point of interrogation (?) is placed at the end of a 
question. 

9. The point of admiration (!) is employed to mark a state- 
ment which calls for surprise or wonder ; but it is now seldom 
used. 



FIGUKES OF SPEECH. 189 



FIGURES OF SPEECH. 

1. The mind naturally tends, especially when in a state of 
excitement, to the use of what is called figurative language. 
It is as if we called upon all the things we see or have seen to 
come forward and help us to express our overmastering emotions. 
In fact, the external shows of nature are required to express the 
internal movements of the mind ; the external world provides a 
language for the internal or mental world. Hence we find all 
language full of figures of speech. Though we do not notice 
them at the time, we can hardly open our mouths without using 
them. As Butler says in his famous poem : — 

" For Hudibras, — he could not ope 
His mouth, but out there flew a trope." * 

We speak of a town being stormed; of a clear head ; a hard 
heart; winged words ; glowing eloquence ; virgin snow; a torrent 
of words; the thirsty ground; the angry sea. We speak of 
God's Word being a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. 

2. This kind of language has been examined, classified, and 
arranged under heads ; and the chief figures of speech are called 
Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Allegory, Synecdoche, 
Metonymy, and Hyperbole. 

3. A Simile is a comparison that is limited to one point. 
"Jones fought like a lion." Here the single point of likeness 
between Jones and the lion is the bravery of the fighting of 
each. 

(Simile comes from the Latin similis, like.) 

(i) " His spear was like the mast of a ship." " His salte teres striken 
down like rain," says Chaucer. "Apollo came like the night," says 
Homer. " His words fell soft, like snow upon the ground," are the 
words used by Homer in speaking of Ulysses. " It stirs the heart 
like the sound of a trumpet " said Sir Philip Sidney in speaking of 
the ballad of " Chevy Chase. " Tennyson admirably compares a miller 
covered with flour to : 'a working-bee in blossom-dust." 



1 A trope — from Greek tropos, a turning. A word that has been turned 
from its ordinary and primary use. From the same root come tropics 
a 3 tropical. 



]00 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

4. A Metaphor is a simile with, the words like or as left out. 
Instead of saying " Eoderick Dhu fought like a lion," we use a 
metaphor, and say " He was a lion in the fight." 

{Metaphor is a Greek word meaning transference.) 

(i) All language, as we have seen, is full of metaphors. Hence lan- 
guage has been called "fossil poetry." Thus, even in very ordinary 
prose, we may say, "the. wish is father to the thought;" "the news 
was a dagger to his heart;" or we speak of the fire of passion; of a 
ray of hope ; a flash of wit ; a thought striking us ; and so on. 

(ii) By frequent use, and by forgetfulness, many metaphors have lost 
their figurative character. Thus we use the words provide (to see 
beforehand), edify (to build up), express (to squeeze out), detect (to 
unroof), ruminate (to chew the cud), without the smallest feeling of 
their metaphorical character. 

(iii) We must never mix our metaphors. It will not do to say : "In 
a moment the thunderbolt was on them, deluging the country with 
invaders." " I will now embark upon the feature on which this question 
mainly hinges." 

(iv) Metaphors and similes may be mixed. Thus Longfellow :— 

M , , J The day is done ; and the darkness 

metapnor, .. ^ FaUa f rQm the wingg of nigb ^ 

q. ., j As a feather is wafted downward 

bimile > | From an eagle in his flight. 

(v) A metaphor is a figure in which the objects compared are treated 
by the mind as identical for the time being. A simile simply treats 
them as resembling one another ; and the mind keeps the two carefully 
apart. 

5. Personification is that figure by which, under the influence 
of strong feeling, we attribute life and mind to impersonal and 
inanimate things. 

(i) Thus we speak, in poetic and impassioned language, of pale Fear ; 
gaunt Famine ; green-eyed Jealousy ; and white-handed Hope. The morn- 
ing is said to laugh; the winds to whisper; the oaks to sigh; and the 
brooks to prattle. 

(ii) Milton, in the ' Paradise Lost,' ix. 780, thus describes the fall of 
Eve:— 

" So saying, her rash hand in evil hour 
Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she ate ! 
Earth felt the wound ; and Nature, from her seat, 
Sighing through all her works, gave sigus of woe 
That all was lost." 



FIGURES OF SPEECH. 191 

Shelley's ' Cloud ' is one long personification. 

(iii) When the personified object is directly addressed, the figure is 
called Apostrophe. Thus we have, " Death, where is thy sting ? 
Grave, where is thy victory ? " 

6. An Allegory is a continuous personification in the form of 
a story. 

(i) The genus is personification ; the differentia, a story ; and the 
species is an allegory. 

(ii) Milton's " Death and Sin," in the tenth book of the ' Paradise 
Lost,' is a short allegory. Spenser's 'Faerie Queene' and Bunyan's 
' Pilgrim's Progress ' are long allegories. 

(iii) A short allegory is called a Fable. 

7. Synecdoche* is that figure of speech by which a part is 
put for the whole. Thus we say, in a more striking fashion, 
bread instead of food ; a cut-throat for a murderer; fifty sail for 
fifty ships; all hands at work. 

(i) Lear, in the height of his mad rage against his daughters, shouts, 
I abjure all roofs ! " 

(ii) The name of the material — as a part of the whole production — is 
sometimes used for the thing made : as cold steel for the sword ; the 
marble speaks ; the canvas glows. 

8. Metonymy is that figure of speech by which a thing is 
named, not with its own name, but by some accompaniment. 
Thus we say, the crown for the king; the sword for physical 
force. 

(The word metonymy is a Greek word meaning change of names. ) 

We write the ermine for the bench of judges; the mitre for the 
bishops; red tape for official routine; a long purse for a great deal oj 
money ; the bottle for habits of drunkenness. 

9. Hyperbole* or Exaggeration is a figure by which much 
more is said than is literally true. This is of course the re- 
sult of very strong emotion. 

» 

(i) Milton says : — 

" So frowned the mighty combatants, that hell 
Grew darker at their frown." 

(ii) Scott, in ' Kenilworth,' has this passage : "The mind of England's 
Elizabeth was like one of those ancient Druidical monuments called 



192 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

rocking-stones. The finger of Cupid, boy as he is painted, could p.*«t 
her feelings in motion ; but the power of Hercules could not have de- 
stroyed their equilibrium." 

10. The folloAving is a summary of the chief of the above 

statements : — 

1. A Figure of Speech employs a vivid or striking image 

of something without to express a feeling or idea 
■within. 

2. A Simile uses an external image with the word like. 

3. A Metaphor uses the same image without the word like. 

4. A Personification is a metaphor taken from a person or 

living being. 

5. An allegory is a continuous personification. 



PARAPHRASING. 

1. Paraphrasing is a kind of exercise that is not without 
its uses. These uses are chiefly two : (i) to bind the learner's 
attention closely to every word and phrase, meaning and shade 
of meaning; and (ii) to enable the teacher to see whether 
the learner has accurately and fully understood the passage. 
But no one can hope to improve on the style of a poem by 
turning the words and phrases of the poet into other language ; 
the change made is always — or almost always — a change for the 
worse. 

2. Passages from good prose writers are sometimes given out 
to paraphrase, but most often passages from poetical writers. 
The reason of this is that poetry is in general much more highly 
compressed than prose, and hence the meaning is sometimes 
obscure, for want of a little more expansion. The following' 
lines by Sir Henry Wotton, the Provost of Eton College, are 
a good example of much thought compressed within a little 
space : — 



PARAPHRASING. 193 



THE HAPPY LIFE. 

1. How happy is he born and taught 
That serveth not another's will — 
Whose armour is his honest thought, 
And simple truth his utmost skill ! 

2. Whose passions not his masters are, 
Whose soul is still prepared for death— 
Not tied unto the worldly care 

Of public fame or private breath ! 

3. Who envies none that chance doth raise, 
Or vice ; who never understood 

How deepest wounds are given by praise ; 
Nor rules of state, but rules of good ; 

4. Who hath his life from humours freed, 
Whose conscience is his strong retreat ; 
Whose state can neither flatterers feed y 
Nor ruin make accusers great ; 

5. Who God doth late and early pray 
More of His grace than gifts to lend ; 
And entertains the harmless day 
With a well-chosen book or friend : — 

6. This man is freed from servile bands 
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall — 
Lord of himself, though not of lands ; 
And, having nothing, yet hath all. 

3. Let us try now to paraphrase these lines — that is, to de- 
velop the thought by the aid of more words. But, though we 
are obliged to use more words, we must do our utmost to find and 
to employ the most fitting. "We must not merely throw down 
a mass of words and phrases, and leave the reader to make his 
own selection and to grope among them for the meaning. 

1. How happy, by birth as well as by education, is the man who is not 
obliged to be a slave to the will of another — whose only armour is his 
honesty and simple goodness, whose best and utmost skill lies in plain 
str aightf or war dness. 

2. How happy is the man who is not the slave of his own passions, 
whose soul is always prepared for death, who is not tied to the world 
or the world's opinion by anxiety about his public reputation or the 
tattle of individuals. 



194 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

8. Happy, too, because he envies no man who has been raised to rank 
by accident or by vicious means ; because he never understood the snee* 
that stabs while it seems to praise ; because he cares nothing for rules 
of expediency or of policy, but thinks only of what is good and right. 

4. Who has freed himself from obedience to humours and to whims, 
whose conscience is his sure stronghold ; whose rank is not exalted 
enough to draw flatterers, or to tempt accusers to build their ows 
greatness upon his fall. 

5. "Who, night and morning, asks God for grace, and not for gifts •, 
and fills his day with the study of a good book or conversation with 
a thoughtful friend. 

6. This man is freed from the slavery of hope and fear — the hope of 
rising, the fear of falling — lord, not of lands, but of himself ; and though 
without wealth or possessions, yet having all that the heart of man need 
desire. ' 



THE GRAMMAR OP VERSE, OR PROSODY. 

1. Verse is the form of poetry ; and Prosody is the part of 
Grammar which deals with the laws and nature of verse. 

(i) Verse comes from the Latin versa, turned. Oratio versa was 
"turned speech " — that is, when the line came to an end, the reader or 
writer or printer had to begin a new line. It is opposed to oratio 
prorsa, which means " straight-on speech " — whence our word prose. A 
line in prose may be of any length ; a line in verse must be of the length 
which the poet gives to it. 

(ii) It is of importance for us to become acquainted with the laws of 
verse. First, because it enables us to enjoy poetry more. Secondly, it 
enables us to read poetry better — and to avoid putting an emphasis on 
a syllable, merely because it is accented. Thirdly, it shows us how to 
write verse ; and the writing of verse is very good practice in composition 
— as it compels us to choose the right phrase, and makes us draw upon 
our store of words to substitute and to improve here or there. 

2. Verse differs from prose in two things : (i) in the regular 
recurrence of accents ; and (ii) in the proportion of un- 
accented to accented syllables. 

(i) Thus, in the line 

In an'swer nought' could An'gus speak*, 
the accent occurs regularly in every second syllable. 



THE GRAMMAR OF VERSE, OR PROSODY. 195 

(ii) But, in the line 

Mer'rily, iner'rily, shall' we live now', 

the accent not only comes first, but there are two unaccented syllables 
for every one that is accented (except in the last foot). 

3. Every English word of more than one syllable has an 
accent on one of its syllables. 

(i) Begin', commend', attach' have the accent on the last syllable. 
(ii) Ilap'py, la'dy, welcome have the accent on the first syllable. 

4. English verse is made up of lines ; each line of verse con- 
tains a fixed number of accents; each accent has a fixed 
number of unaccented syllables attached to it. 

(i) Let us take these lines from ' Marmion ' (canto v.) : — 

Who loves' | not more' | the night' | of June' 
Than dull' | Decern' | ber's gloom' | of noon' ? 

Each line here contains four accents ; the accented syllable comes last ; 
each accented syllable has one unaccented attached to it. 

(ii) Now let us compare these lines from T. Hood's " Bridge of Sighs " : 

Touch' her not | scorn'fully, 
Think' of her | mourn'fully. 

Each line here contains two accents ; the accented syllable comes first ; 
and each accented syllable has two unaccented syllables attached to it. 

5. One accented syllable + one or two unaccented, taken 
together, is called a foot. A foot is the unit of metre. 

Let x stand for an unaccented, and a for an accented syllable. 

6. One accented preceded by one unaccented syllable is 
called an Iambus. Its formula is xa. — One accented syllable 
followed by one unaccented is called a Trochee. Its formula 
is ax. 

(i) The following are iambuses : Perhaps' ; condemn' ; compel' ; with- 
out' ; career'. 

(ii) The following are trochees : Gen'tle ; riv'er; la'dy ; ra'ven ; tum'ble, 

(hi) The following verse is made up of four iambuses — that is, it i$ 
iambic verse : — 

Twere long 7 , | and need' | less, here' | to tell' 
How to my hand these papers fell. 



X96 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

(iv) The following verse is made up of four trochees — that is, it is 
trochaic : — 

In' his | cham'ber, I weak' and | dy'ing 
Was the Norman baron lying. 

(v) lam' | bics march' ] from short' ] to long'. 

(vi) Tro'chee | trips' from | long' to | short' — | . 

7. One accented syllable preceded by two unaccented is 
called an Anapaest. Its formula is xxa. — One accented syl- 
lable followed by two unaccented is called a Dactyl. Its 
formula is axx. 

(i) The following are anapaests : Serenade' ; disappear' ; comprehend' ; 
intercede'. 

(ii) The following are dactyls : Hap'pily; mer'rily ; sim'ilar ; bU'lowy. 

(hi) The following lines are in anapaestic verse : — 

I am mon' | arch of all' | I survey', 
My right there is none to dispute. 

(iv) With a leap' | and a bound' | the swift an' j apaests throng 7 | . 

(v) The following are in dactylic verse : — 

Can'non to | right' of them | 
Can'non to | left' of them |. 

(a) The word dactyl comes from the Greek daJctiilos, a finger. 
For a finger has one long and two short joints. 

(b) The word anapaest comes from two Greek words : paio, I 
strike, and ana, back ; because it is the reverse of a dactyl. 

8. The Anapaest belongs to the same kind or system of verse 
as the Iambus ; because the accented syllable in each comes last. 
— The Dactyl belongs to the same kind or system of verse as 
the Trochee ; because the accented syllable in each comes first. 

(i) Hence anapaests and iambuses may be mixed (as in "My right' [ 
there is none' | to dispute' | "); and so may dactyls and trochees (as in 
" Hark' to the | sum'mons | "). 

(ii) But we very seldom see a trochee introduced into an iambic line ; 
or an iambus into a trochaic. 

9. An accented syllable with one unaccented syllable on each 
side of it is called an Amphibrach. Its formula is xax. 

The word amphibrach comes from two Greek words : amphi, on both 
sides; and brachus, short. (Compare amphibious.) 



THE GRAMMAR OF VERSE, OR PROSODY 197 

(i) The following are amphibrachs : Despair' ing; almight'y ; tremend- 
ous; deceitful. 
. (ii) The following is an amphibrachic line : — 

There came' to | the beach' a | poor ex'ile | of E'rin |. 

10. A verse made up of iambuses is called Iambic Verse ; 
of trochees, Trochaic ; of anapaests, Anapaestic ; and of dactyls, 
Dactylic. 

11. A verse of three feet is called Trimeter; of four feet, 
Tetrameter ; of five feet, Pentameter ; and of six feet, Hex- 
ameter. 

(i) We find the prefixes of these words in Triangle ; Tetrarch (a ruler 
oyer a fourth part) ; Pentateuch (the Jive books of Moses) ; and Hexagon 
(a figure with six corners or angles). 

12. By much the most usual kind of verse in English is 
Iambic "Verse. 

(i) Iambic Tetrameter (4xa) is the metre of most of Scott's poems ; 
of Coventry Patmore's "Angel in the House"; of Gay's Fables, and 
many other poems of the eighteenth century. 

(ii) Iambic Pentameter (5xa) is the most common line in English 
Terse. There are probably more than a thousand iambic pentameter 
lines for one that there exists of any other kind. Iambic Pentameter is 
the verse of Chaucer, of Shakespeare, of Milton, of Dryden, of Pope, and 
of almost all our greater English poets. 

13. Khymed Iambic Pentameter is called Heroic Verse ; un- 
rhymed, it is called Blank Verse. 

(i) Any unrhymed verse may be called blank — such as the verse em- 
ployed by Longfellow in his " Hiawatha " — but the term is usually 
restricted to the unrhymed iambic pentameter. 

(ii) Blank verse is the noblest of all verse. It seems the easiest to 
write ; it is the most difficult. It is the verse of Shakespeare and Milton, 
and of most of our great dramatists. 

14. Iambic Trimeter consists of three iambuses; and its 
formula is 3xa. 

The king' | was on' | his throne'; | 
His sa' | traps thronged' | the hall'; | 
A thou' | sand bright' | lamps shone' | 
On that' | high fes' | tival'. | 

There is very little of this kind of verse in English. 



198 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

15. Iambic Tetrameter consists of four iambuses; and its 
formula is 4xa. 

The fire/ | with well' | dried logs' | supplied/ | 
"Went roar' | ing up' | the chim' | ney wide'; | 
The huge' | hall-ta' | ble's oak' | en face' | 
Scrubbed till' | it shone/ | the day' j to grace.' | 

There is a good deal of this verse in English ; and most of it 
is by Scott. 

16. Iambic Tetrameter with Iambic Trimeter in alternate 
lines — the second and fourth rhyming — is called Ballad Metre. 
"When used, as it often is, in hymns, it is called Service Metre. 

They set him high upon a cart; = 4xa 

The hangman rode below; = 3xa 
They drew his hands behind his back, = 4xa 

And bared his noble brow. = 3xa 

This is the metre of Macaulay's 'Lays of Ancient Rome,' of 
Scott's 'Lay of the Last Minstrel,' and many other poems. 
Scott mixes frequently, but at quite irregular intervals, the 
iambic trimeter with the iambic tetrameter ; and this he called 
the "light-horse gallop of verse." 

Front, flank, and rear, the squadrons sweep = 4xa 
To break the Scottish circle deep, = 4xa 

That fought' | around' | their king.' = 3xa 

17. Iambic Pentameter consists of five iambuses; and its 
formula is 5xa. 

(i) The following is rhymed iambic pentameter : — 

True wit' | is na' | ture to' | advan' | tage dressed/ | = 5xa 

What oft' | was thought/ | but ne'er' | so well' | expressed.' | = 5xa 

(ii) The following is unrhymed iambic pentameter : — 

You all' | do know' | this man' | tie ; I' | remem' | ber=5xa 
The first' | time ev' | er Cees' | ar put' | it on'.| = 5xa. 

The first extract is from Pope's "Essay on Criticism"; the 
second from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." 

18. Iambic Hexameter consists of six iambuses ; and its 
formula is 6xa. 



THE GRAMMAR OF VERSE, OR PROSODY. 129 

(i) The following is from Drayton's " Polyolbion " : — 

Upon the Midlands now the industrious muse doth fall, | =6x* 
That shire which we the heart of England well may call. | = 6xa 

The objection to this kind of verse is its intolerable monotony. 
It pretends to be hexameter ; but it is indeed simply two tri- 
meter verses printed in one long line. The monotony comes 
from the fact that the pause is always in the middle of the line. 
There is very little of this kind of verse in English. The line 
of 6xa is also called an Alexandrine, and is used to close the 
long stanza employed by Spenser. 

19. Trochaic Tetrameter consists of four trochees ; and its 
formula is 4 ax. 

(i) The following is rhymed trochaic tetrameter : — 

When the heathen trumpet's clang- | = 4ax 
Round beleaguered Chester rang, -| — 4ax 
Veiled nun and friar gray- | = 4ax 
Marched from Bangor's fair abbaye - | = 4ax 

It will be noticed that each line has a syllable wanting to 
make up the four complete feet But the missing syllable is 
only an unaccented syllable ; and the line contains four ac- 
cents. (The above extract is from "The Monks of Bangor's 
March," by Scott.) 

(ii) The following is unrhymed trochaic tetrameter : — 

Then the | little | Hia | watha | =4 ax 
Learned of | ev'ry | bird the | language, | = 4ax 
Learned their | names and | all their | secrets, | = 4ax 
How they | built their | nests in | summer, | = 4ax 
Where they | hid them | selves in \ winter, | = 4ax 
Talked with | them when | e'er he | met them, | = 4ax 
Called them | "Hia | watha's | Chickens." | = 4ax 

It will be observed that, in the above lines from Longfellow's 
" Hiawatha," each trochee is complete ; and this is the case 
throughout the whole of this poem. " Hiawatha " is the only 
long poem in the language that is written in unrhymed trochees. 

20. Trochaic Octometer consists of eight trochees; and its 
formula is 8 ax. 

(i) The chief example of it that we have is Tennyson's poem «f 
"Locksley Hall":— 



200 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

Com'rades, | leave' me | here' a | lit' tie, | while' as | yet' 'tis | early | morn'-| = 8ax 
Leave' me | here', ami, | when' you|want' me, | sound' up|on' the|bu'gle|horn'-| = 8ax 

(ii) There is a syllable wanting in each line of " Locksley Hall " ; but 
it is only an unaccented syllable. Each line consists of eight accents. 

21. Anapaestic Tetrameter consists of four anapaests; and 
its formula is 4xxa. 

(i) There is very little anapaestic verse in English ; and what little 
there exists is written in tetrameter. 

(ii) The following lines, from " Macgregors' Gathering," by Scott, is 
in anapaestic verse : — 

The moon's' | on the lake', | and the mist's' | on the brae', | = 4xxa 
And the clan' | has a name' | that is name' | less by day'. | =4xxa 

(iii) It will be observed that the first line begins with an Iambus. 
This is admissible ; because an iambus and an anapaest, both having the 
accented syllable last, belong to the same system. 

22. Dactylic Dimeter consists of two dactyls ; and its formula 
is 2axx. 

(i) A well-known example is Tennyson's "Charge of the Light 
Brigade." 

Oan'nonto | right' of them, | 2axx 
Can'non to | leff of them, | 2axx 
Can'non be | hind' them, - | 2axx 

Volleyed and | thun'dered. - | 2axx 

(ii) It will be observed that the last two lines want a syllable tw make 
up the two dactyls. Such a line is said to be = 2axx- (minus). 

(iii) Or we may say that the last foot is a trochee ; for a trochee and 
a dactyl can go together in one line, both belonging to the same system 
— both having their accented syllable first. 

23. Dactylic Tetrameter consists of four dactyls ; and its for 
mula is 4axx. 

(i) Bishop Heber's hymn is one of the best examples : — 

Bright'est and | best' of the | sons' of the | morning. 
(ii) The last foot here again is a trochee, 
(iii) There is very little a>f this kind of verse in English poetry. 

24. Amphibrachic Tetrameter consists of four amphibrachs ; 
<ind its formula is 4xax. 



THE GRAMMAR OF VERSE, OR PROSODY. 201 

(i) Campbell's well-known poem is a good example : — 
There came' to | the beach' a | poor ex'ile | of E'rin. 
(ii) There are very few examples in English of this kind of verse. 

25. The following lines by Coleridge give both examples and 
descriptions of the most important metres explained in the pre- 
ceding paragraphs. It must be observed that Coleridge uses the 
term long for accented; and short for unaccented syllables: — 

Tro'chee [ trips' from | long' to | short' — | 

From long to long in solemn sort, 

Slow spon | dee 1 stalks || strong' foot, yet j ill' able 

E'ver to | come' up with | dac'tyl tri [ syllable | . 

lam' | bics march' | from sho'rt | to long' J ; 

With a leap' | and a bound' | the swift an' | apsests throng' ] ; 

One syl'la | ble long' with | one short' at | each side — | 

Amphi'brach | ys hastes' with | a state'ly | stride. 

26. A verse with a syllable over and above the number of 
feet of which it consists is called Hypermetrical. 

(i) Thus, Coleridge has, in his " Ancient Mariner " — 
Day af | ter day, | day af | ter day, | 

We stuck : | nor breath | nor mo | tion, (hyper) 
As id | le as | a paint | ed ship | 

Upon [ a paint | ed o | cean. (hyper) 

Here the syllables tion and cean are over from the iambic trimeter 
Terse, and the line is therefore said to be hypermetrical. 

27. A verse with a syllable wanting to the number of feet 
of which it consists is said to be defective. 

(i) Thus, in Scott's " Monks of Bangor " — 

Slaughtered | down' by | heath'en | blade'- [ 4ax- 
Ban'gor's | peace'ful | monks' are | laid'. - | 4ax- 

we find a syllable wanting to each line. But that syllable is an un- 
accented one ; and the verse consists of four trochees minus one syllable, 
or 4ax-. 

(ii) Caution ! — Some persons confuse the defective with the hyper- 
metrical line. Thus, in the verses — 

Shall' I | wast'ing | in' de | spair', - | 
Die' be | cause a | wom'an's | fair 7 ?- | 

the syllable spair is not hypermetrical. An unaccented syllable is 
wanting to it ; and the lines are 4 ax defective or minus. 



1 A spondee consists of two long or accented syllables. It is a foot nob 
employed in English ; but it exists in the two words amen and farewell. 



202 COMPOSITION. PUNCTUATION, ETC. 



RHYME. 

28. Rhyme has been denned by Milton as the "jingling 
sound of like endings." It may also be defined as a corre- 
spondence in sound at the ends of lines in poetry. 

(i) Rhyme is properly spelled rime. The word originally meant num- 
ber ; and the Old English word for arithmetic was rime-craft. It 
received its present set of letters from a confusion with the Greek word 
rhythm, which means & flowing. 

(ii) Professor Skeat says " it is one of the worst-spelt words in the 
language." "It is," he says, "impossible to find an instance of the 
spelling rhyme before 1550." Shakespeare generally wrote rime. 

29. ISTo rhyme can be good unless it satisfies four conditions. 
These are : — 

1. The rhyming syllable must be accented. Thus rincf 

rhymes with sing'; but not with think'iny. 

2. The vowel sound must be the same — to the ear, that is ; 

though not necessarily to the eye. Thus lose and dose 
are not good rhymes. 

3. The final consonant must be the same. [Mix and tricks 

are good rhymes ; because x = ks.) 

4. The preceding consonant must be different. 

Beat and feet ; jump and pump are good rhymes. 

30. The English language is very poor in rhymes, when 
compared with Italian or German. Accordingly, half-rhymes 
are admissible, and are frequently employed. 

The following rhymes may be used : — 

Sun. Love. Allow. Ever, Taste. 

Gone. Move. Bestow. River, Past. 



THE (LESUKA, 203 



THE CAESURA. 

31. The rhythm or musical flow of verse depends on the 
Varied succession of phrases of different lengths. But, most of 
all, it is upon the Caesura, and the position of the Csesura, 
that musical flow depends. 

The word ccesura is a Latin word, and means a cutting. 

32. The Csesura in a line is the rest or halt or break or 
pause for the voice in reading aloud. It is found in short as 
well as in long lines. 

(i) The following is an example from the short lines of ' Marmion ' 

(vl 332) :— 

1£ More pleased that || in a barbarous age 
2£ He gave rude Scotland || Virgil's page, 

1 Than that || beneath his rule he held 

2 The bishopric || of fair Dunkeld. 

It will be seen from this that Sir Walter Scott takes care to vary the 
position of the csesura in each line —sometimes having it after 1^ feet, 
sometimes after 2 ; and so on. 

(ii) The following is an example from the long lines of the " Lycidas " 
of Milton :— 

2 Now, Lycidas, || the shepherds weep no more ; 
1 Henceforth || thou art the genius of the shore 

3 In thy large recompense, || and shalt be good 
2£ To all that wander || in that perilous flood. 

Milton, too, is careful to vary the position of his caesura ; and most of 
the music and much of the beauty of his blank verse depend upon the 
fact that the caesura appears now at the beginning, now at the middle, 
now at the end of his lines ; and never in the same place in two con- 
secutive verses. 

(iii) Of all the great writers of English verse, Pope is the one who 
places the caesura worst — worst, because it is almost always in the 
same place. Let us take an example from his "Rape of the Lock" 
(canto i.) : — 

2 The busy sylphs || surround their darling care, 
2 These set the head, || and these divide the hair ; 
2 Some fold the sleeve, || whilst others plait the gown ; 
2 And Betty's praised || for labours not her own. 

And so he goes on for thousands upon thousands of verses. The symbol 
of Pope's caesura is a straight line ; the symbol of Milton's is "the line 
of beauty " — a line of perpetually varying and harmonious curves. 



204 COMPOSITION, PUNCTUATION, ETC. 



THE STANZA. 
33. A Stanza is a group of rhymed lines. 

The word comes from an old Italian word, stantia, an abode. 

34 Two rhymed lines are called a couplet ; and this may be 
looked upon as the shortest kind of stanza. 

(i) The most usual couplet in English consists of two rhymed iambic 
pentameter lines. This is called the " heroic couplet." 

35. A stanza of three rhymed lines is called a triplet. 

(i) A very good example is to be found in Tennyson's poem of " The 
Two Voices," which consists entirely of triplets : — 

" Whatever crazy sorrow saith, 
No life that breathes with human breath 
Has ever truly longed for death." 

36. A stanza of four rhymed lines — of which the first (some- 
times) rhymes with the third, and the second (always) with 
the fourth — is called a quatrain. 

(i) The ordinary ballad metre consists of quatrains — that is, foul 
lines, two of iambic tetrameter, and two of iambic trimeter. 

(ii) A quatrain of iambic pentameters is called Elegiac Verse. The 
best known example is Gray's " Elegy in a Country Churchyard." 

37. A stanza of six lines is called a sextant. 

(i) There are many kinds. One is used in Hood's " Dream of Eugene 
Aram," which is written in 4xa and 3xa ; the second, fourth, and sixth 
lines rhyming. 

(ii) Another in Whittier's " Barclay of Ury," which has the first and 
second lines, the third and sixth, the fourth and fifth, rhyming with 
each other. 

(hi) Another in Lowell's "Yussouf," which has the first and third 
lines, the second and fourth, and the fifth and sixth rhyming. 

38. A stanza of eight lines is called an octave, or ottava 
rima. 

(Pronounced ottdhva reema.) 

39. A stanza of nine lines is called the Spenserian stanza, 
because Edmund Spenser employed it in his " Faerie Queene." 



THE STANZA. 205 

(i) The first eight lines of this stanza are in 5xa ; the last line, in 6xa. 
(ii) The rhymes run thus : abab ; bcbcc. 

40. A short poem of fourteen iambic pentameter lines — with 
the rhymes arranged in a peculiar way — is called a sonnet. 

(i) This is a form which has been imported into England from Itaty, 
where it was cultivated by many poets — the greatest among these being 
Dante and Petrarch, both of them poets of the thirteenth century. 
The best English sonnet-writers are Milton, Wordsworth, and Mrs 
Browning. 

(ii) The sonnet consists of two parts — an octave (of eight lines), and 
a sestette (of six). The rhymes in the octave are often varied, being 
sometimes abba, acca : those in the sestette are sometimes abc, abc ; 
or ababcc. 

(hi) Shakespeare's " Sonnets " are not formed on the Italian model, 
and can hardly be called sonnets at all. They are really short poems oi 
three quatrains, ending in each case with a rhymed couplet. 

(iv) The following is Wordsworth's sonnet on " The Sonnet " : — 

Scorn not the Sonnet; critic, you have frowned a 

Mindless of its just honours : with this key b 

Shakspeare unlocked his heart ; the melody 6 

Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound ; a 

A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound; a 

With it Camoens soothed an exile's grief; c 

The sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf e 

\Amid the cypress with which Dante crowned a 

'His visionary brow ; a glow-worm lamp d 

Tt cheered mild Spenser, called from fairyland e 

To struggle through dark ways ; and when a damp d 

Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand e 

| The thing became a trumpet, whence he blew / 

^Soul-animating strains — alas, too few ! " / 



207 



EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE I. (Introduction, p. 3). 

1. What do you understand by the language of a people ? 2. Dis- 
tinguish between phonetics and alphabetics. 3. Define grammar. 
4. Contrast our present language with what it was in the fifth 
century. 5. Account for the difference. 6. What part of grammar is 
unnecessary except in a written language ? 7. Distinguish between 
orthography and etymology. 8. Show the connection between syntax 
and prosody. 

EXERCISE II. (Sounds and Letters, p. 5). 

1. Show the difference between a vowel and a consonant. 2. Say 
which are the vowels in the following words : young, wonder, worth, 
hypercritical, abstemious, yell, iota. 3. Name the diphthongs, if any, 
in continuous, idea, shoeing, join, oasis, reason, porous, variety, spon- 
taneity. 4. How are consonants classified ? 5. Select the dentals and 
gutturals from the following words : dog, gate, gentle, truth, thank, 
hog, gymnastic, pneumatic, drink, conquered. 6. Select the palatals 
and labials from the following words : Job, Benjamin, archiepiscopate, 
bdellium, method, psalm, yacht. 7. Distinguish between mutes and 
spirants. 8. Show which are the dental and which the palatal spir- 
ants in scissors, rush, shawl, zealously, laziness, azimuth, zephyr, harass. 
9. Change as many as you can of the following into corresponding 
sharp sounds : bad, dove, dig, bag, bathe, gad, beg, Jude, dug, Jove, 
gab, jug. 10. Reduce the following sharp to flat sounds : pack, buck, 
cat, set, trick, chick, pet. 11. Classify the consonants in the word 
fundamental. 

EXERCISE in. (The Alphabet, p. 7). 

1. What is an alphabet? 2. Trace the growth of the alphabet. 
3. What are the characteristics of a true alphabet? 4. Prove our 
alphabet faulty. 5. Which are the redundant letters ? 



208 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE IV. (Nouns, p. 9). 

1. What is a noun 1 2. How are nouns classified ? 3. Define 
abstract nouns. 4. Classify the nouns in the following : — 

(a) "Come forth into the light of things, 

Let nature be your teacher. " — Wordsworth. 

(b) "Welcome, learn'd Cicero ! whose blessed tongue and wit 

Preserves Rome's greatness yet." — Cowley. 

(c) " All in the Downs the fleet lay moor'd." — Dibdin. 

(d) "Poictiers and Cressy tell, 

When most their pride did swell. " — Drayton. 

(e) "Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is 
brutality. " — Rushin. 

(f) Parliament was prorogued. The troop returned to barracks. 
The jury disagreed. Many a congregation missed him. The flock 
was driven down the lane. 

5. Make abstract nouns of true, noble, young, king, patient, man, lord, 
intrude, rogue, slave, poor, domain, catechise, exemplify. 



EXERCISE V. 
Classify the nouns in the following : — 

" Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: 

The soul that rises with us, our Life's Star, 
Hath had elsewhere its setting, 

And cometh from afar : 
Not in entire forgetfulness, 
And not in utter nakedness, 
But trailing clouds of glory do we come 
From God, who is our home: 

Heaven lies about us in our infancy! 
Shades of the prison-house begin to close 

Upon the growing Boy, 
But He beholds the light, and whence it flows 

He sees it in his joy I" — Wordsworth. 



EXERCISE VI. (Gender, p. 11). 

1. What is inflexion ? 2. Define gender. 3. Give the different 
ways in which gender is marked. 4. Give the gender of Londoner, 
chief, senor, actor, debtor, sailor, kitten, sheep, charity, knave, moon, ant, 
spouse, bee, laundress. 5. Give the masculine of spinster, doe, slut, ewe, 
nymph, bride, heifer, Harriet, infanta, baxter, lass, czarina, vixen. 
6. Write the feminine of man, widower, patron, drake, marquis, gan- 



EXERCISES. 209 

der, friar, sire, benefactor, executor, tutor, hart. 7. What is the fem- 
inine corresponding to each of the following? son, nephew, earl, boar, 
Paul, gaffer, filly. 8. Arrange the words in (4) and (5) as of Teutonic 
or of Latin origin. 



EXERCISE VII. (Number, p. 15). 

1. Define number. 2. Give the chief ways of forming plurals. 
3. Supply the plurals of child, chief, cloth, calf, horse, table, Dutchman, 
German, Henry, Babylon, trout, week, fly, solo, monkey, commander-in- 
chief, index, boot, foot. 4. Also of House of Parliament, mouse, lily, 
turkey, gas, box, genius, Mr Jones, canto, penny, crisis, Miss Foote, Lord 
Mayor, lady -help, relief, dye, buoy, colloquy, clearer -up, spoonful. 
5. Write the singulars of kine, sheep, tenori, radii, series, data, dice, 
analyses, cherubim, hosen (Dan., chap. iii. ver. 21). 6. Distinguish be- 
tween pease and peas, brothers and brethren, dies and dice, geniuses and 
genii. 7. Justify the use of each of the following : memorandums, foci, 
indices, bandits, funguses, seraphs. 8. State the number of each of the 
nouns in the following : — 

(a) "The audience were too much interested." — Scott. 

(b) "The court were seated for judgment." — Id. 

(c) " The garrison only bestow a few bolts on it." — Id. 

(d) " The House of Lords were so much influenced." — Hume. 

(e) "The weaker sex themselves." — Id. 

(f) "All his tribe are blind." — Bunyan. 



EXERCISE VIII. 

State the kind and number of each of the nouns in the 
following : — 

(a) " He sees that this great round-about, 
The world with all its motley rout, — 

Church, army, physic, law, 
Its customs and its businesses, 
Is no concern at all of his." — Cowper. 

(b) " Nature is but the name for an effect, 
Of which the cause is God. " — Id. 

(c) " Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own, 

Yearnings she hath in her own natural kind." — Wordsworth. 

(d) "The rose is fairest when 'tis budding new, 

And hope is brightest when it dawns from fears." — Scott. 

(e) "A look of kind Truth, a word of Goodwill, 
Are the magical helps on Life's road ; 
With a mountain to travel they shorten the hill, 
With a burden they lighten the load. " 

— Eliza Cook. 
N 



# 



210 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE IX. 

/ 

Give the kind, gender, and number of the nouns in the 
following : — 

(a) "A baby was sleeping, its mother was weeping, 

For her husband was far on the wild raging sea." — S. Lover. 

(b) " Perhaps that very hand, now pinion'd flat, 

Has hob-a-nobb'd with Pharaoh, glass to glass ; 
Or dropp'd a halfpenny in Homer's hat, 

Or doffd thine own to let Queen Dido pass, 
Or held, by Solomon's own invitation, 
A torch at the great Temple's dedication." — Horace Smith. 

(c) " Britannia needs no bulwark, 

No towers along the steep." — Campbell. 

(d) " He spoke of the grass, and flowers, and trees, 

Of the singing birds, and the humming bees, 

Then talked of the haying, and wonder'd whether 

The cloud in the west would bring foul weather." — /. G. Whittier. 

EXERCISE X. (Case, p. 19). 

1. Define case. 2. For what cases are nouns inflected ? 3. What 
determines the nominative case ? 4. Define nominative absolute. 

5. Show the two ways of denoting the possessive case. 6. Define 
cognate object. 7. Why are dative objects so called ? 8. Give the 
meaning of factitive as applied to the objective case. 9. What is an 
adverbial object. 

EXERCISE XI. 

Select the nominatives in the following : — 

1. The bloom falls in May. 2. The ostriches' heads were not to 
be seen. 3. "The kine," said he, "I'll quickly feed." 4. The kine 
were fed. 5. The captain falling ill, the boatswain took charge. 

6. A wandering minstrel am I. 7. Here lies the body of a noble 
man. 8. Richard, they say, was cruel. 9. The bell ringing, the 
children assembled. 10. Richard, William's son, was killed in the 
New Forest. 11. Go quickly. 12. A number of sheep, losing their 
way, fell over the precipice. 13. Rattle his bones over the stones. 
14. The guide falling ill, the travellers had to rely on his dog. 15. 
Ah ! Charlie, my son, you cheer your old mother ! 

EXERCISE XII. 

Point out the objective case in each of the following sen- 
tences : — 

1. Britannia rules the waves. 2. Pardon me. 3. I beg your par- 
don. 4. To-night no moon I see. 5. How many birds did they catch ? 
6. He rode two miles. 7. The king conferred with the general. 8. 



EXERCISES. 211 

The children laughed at the squirrel. 9. Let me die the death of the 
righteous. 10. The crooked oak I'll fell to-day. 11. A liar who can 
trust? 12. We know a tree by its fruit. 13. He told a good tale. 
14. The boy sneered at the idea. 15. Richard slew his godfather, 
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the king-maker. 



EXERCISE XIII. 
Write the following in the ordinary possessive form :— 

1. The bark of a dog. 2. The twitter of the swallows. 3. The 
books of John. 4. The spades of the workmen. 5. The studies of 
James. 6. The scissors of Miss Cissy Moses. 7. The lute of Or- 
pheus. 8. The sword of Achilles. 9. The subscriptions of the ladies. 
10. The death of the Marquis of Londonderry. 11. The cries of the 
babies. 12. The marriage of Richard, Earl of Cambridge. 13. The 
innocence of the lilies. 14. The head of a sheep. 15. The tails of 
sheep. 16. The jubilee of Victoria, Queen of England. 17. The sake 
of my conscience. 

EXERCISE XIV. 

Give particulars of the cases of each of the nouns in the 
following : — 

1. Toll for the brave. 2. Flaxen was his hair. 3. Ho, gunners ! fire 
a loud salute. 4. Give the man a draught from the spring. 5. The 
parson told the sexton, and the sexton toll'd the bell. 6. Boys, you 
deserve to have a holiday given you. 7. It is very like a whale. 
8. In this place ran Cassius' dagger through. 9. He paid him the debt 
for conscience' sake. 10. The king's baker dreamed a dream. 11. 
The lady lent the boy 'Robinson Crusoe.' 12. Bid your wife be 
judge. 13. The Count of Anjou became leader. 14. Joan seemed a 
holy woman. 15. Charles appointed Buckingham commander. 
16. Let the actors play the play. 17. John walked two hours and 
travelled seven miles. 18. How many hired servants of my father's 
have bread enough. 19. I have a sixpence, but no pennies. 20. Ben- 
jamin, Joseph's own brother, Jacob's youngest son, was kept a 
prisoner. 

EXERCISE XV. 

State fully the cases of the nouns in the following : — 

1. The sergeant choosing the tallest, the other recruits dispersed. 
2. Old Kaspar's work was done. 3. William, sing a song. 4. She 
made the poor girl a dress. 5. She knitted all day. 6. The tide 
floated the vessel. 7. The boy swam his little boat. 8. Let the king 
be your leader. 9. A small hole will sink a ship. 10. Let bygones 
be bygones. 

11. It rains, it hails, it blows, it snows, 
Methinks I'm wet thro' all my clothes. 



212 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE XVI. 

Parse fully all the nouns occurring in the sentences quoted 
below : — 

(a) "Trusse up thy packe, and trudge from me, to every little boy, 

And tell them thus from me, their time most happy is, 

If to theyr time they reason had to know the truth of this. " 

— The Earl of Surrey. 

(b) " Underneath this sable hearse 

Lies the subject of all verse, 

Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother. " — Ben Jonson. 

(c) "Give me a looke, give me a face, 

That makes simplicitie a grace. " — Id. 

(d) "His house was known to all the vagrant train ; 

He chid their wand 'rings, but relieved their pain. " — Goldsmith. 

(e) "Yet shall poor Tom find pleasant weather, 

When He, who all commands, 
Shall give, to call life's crew together, 
The word to pipe all hands." — C. Dibdin. 

EXERCISE XVII. (Pronouns, p. 23). 

1. Define a pronoun, and give derivation. 2. What is a personal 
pronoun? 3. What are the only pronouns that can be used in the 
vocative case ? 4. Which person alone takes distinction of gender ? 
5. What is an interrogative pronoun ? 6. Distinguish between who 
and what, ye and you, thy and thine, and me and myself. 7. Explain 
the ch in which, the m in whom, the ther in whether, and the t in it. 
8. "They who run may read" — where is the conjunction for these 
two sentences? 9. When are reflexive pronouns used? 10. Pefine 
a distributive pronoun. 

EXERCISE XVIII. 

Give the kind, gender, number, person, and case of each of 
the pronouns below : — 

(a) "I am monarch of all I survey, 

My right there is none to dispute." — Cowper. 

(b) " You yourself are much condemn'd." — Shakespeare. 

(c) " Little children, love one another." — Bible. 

(d) " Few shall part where many meet." — Campbell. 

(e) " Who would fill a coward's grave? " — Burns. 

(f) " You wrong'd yourself to write in such a case." — Shakesj)eare. 

(g) " Each had his place appointed, each his course." — Milton, 
{h) " Right as a serpent hideth him under flowers." — Chaucer, 
(i) • ' Of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles. " 

— Bible, 
(k) "The stars are out by twos and threes." — Wordsworth. 
(I) " He is the freeman whom the truth makes free, 
And all are slaves besides." — Cowper. 



EXERCISES. 213 



EXERCISE XIX. 

Parse the relatives and antecedents in the following : — 

(a) " To know 
That which before us lies in daily life, 
Is the prime wisdom." — Milton. 

(b) " Who steals my purse steals trash." — Shakespeare. 

(c) " He prayeth best, who loveth best 

All things, both great and small." — Coleridge. 

(d) " Freedom has a thousand charms to show, 

That slaves, howe'er contented, never know." — Cowper. 

(e) " Vain, very vain, my weary search to find 

That bliss which only centres in the mind." — Goldsmith. 

(f) "Be strong, live happy, and love ; but first of all, 
Him whom to love is to obey." — Milton. 

(g) " Whoever lov'd, that lov'd not at first sight ? " — Shakespeare. 

{h) " There were none of the Grograms but could sing a song, or 
of the Marjorams but could tell a story." — Goldsmith, 
i) " Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." — Bible. 
lc) " Let such teach others, who themselves excel." — Pope. 

EXERCISE XX. 

Parse fully the nouns and pronouns in the following : — 

(a) "That thee is sent receive in buxomness." — Chaucer. 

(b) "Forth, pilgrim forth — on, best out of thy stall, 

Look up on high, and thank the God of all." — Id. 

(c) ' ' The place that she had chosen out, 

Herself in to repose, 
Had they come down, the gods no doubt 
The very same had chose." — Drayton. 

(d) " So, Willy, let you and me be wipers 

Of scores out with all men, especially pipers : 

And, whether they pipe us free from rats or from mice, 

If we've promised them aught, let us keep our promise." 

— Browning. 

(e) "Let beeves and home-bred kine partake 

The sweets of Burn-mill meadow ; 

The swan on still Saint Mary's lake 

Float double, swan and shadow." — Wordsworth. 

EXERCISE XXI. (Adjectives, p. 28). 

1. Define an adjective. 2. Show the twofold function of an adjective. 
3. Name the kinds of adjectives. 4. Give the derivation of each 



214 EXERCISES. 

name. 5. In what ways may quantitative adjectives be used? 6. 
How are numeral adjectives classified? 7. What adjectives are 
inflected for number ? 8. What adjectives are inflected for comparison ? 
9. How is the comparative formed? 10. Distinguish between further 
and farther, older and elder, later and latter. 11. Write the ordinals 
of one, two, three, four, forty, eight, twenty, hundred, five, twelve. 



EXERCISE XXII. 

Classify the adjectives in the following : — 

1. "In the body politic, as in the natural body, morbid languor 
succeeds morbid excitement." — Macaulay. 2. "So thick a drop 
serene hath quenched their orbs." — Milton. 3. "His ain coat on his 
back is." — Old Song. 4. "He was a ready orator, an elegant poet, 
a skilful gardener, an excellent cook, and a most contemptible 
sovereign." — Gibbon. 5. "Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy 
sleep." — Young. 6. "You gave good words the other day of a bay 
courser I rode. " — Shakespeare. 1. "The poor man that loveth Christ 
is richer than the richest man." — Bunyan. 8. " Sole Eve, associate 
sole, to me beyond compare above all living creatures dear." — Milton. 
9. "Fox beat half the lawyers in the House at their own weapons. " 
< — Macaulay. 

EXERCISE XXIII. 

Parse fully all the adjectives in the following : — 

1. "The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better 

part I have saved my life." — Shakespeare. 2. " Act well your part; 

there all the honour lies." — Pope. 3. "The greater the new power 

they create, the greater seems their revenge against the old. " — Bulwer. 

4. "It was a very low fire indeed for such a bitter night.-" — Dickens. 

5. " Some three or four of you go, give him courteous conduct to this 
place." — Shakespeare. 6. "Many a carol, old and saintly, sang the 
minstrels." — Longfellow. 7. "The morning comes cold for a July 
one."— Carlyle. 8. " I'll fill another pipe. "—Sterne. 9. " Our host 
presented us round to each other." — Thackeray. 10. "He is one of 
those wise philanthropists." — Jerrold. 11. "We two saw you four 
set on four. " — Shakespeare. 12. "This said, they both betook them 
several ways." — Milton. 13. " Blazing London seem'd a second 
Troy. ' ' — Cowper. 

EXERCISE XXIV. 

(1) Compare the following adjectives where they admit of 
it:— 

Stout, thin, marvellous, calm, shy, lady-like, gentlemanly , wet, honour- 
able, dead, near, full, prim, lovely, clayey, happy, sad, solar. 

(2) Write the positive of 

Next, more, inner, last, least, first, inmost, better. 



EXERCISES. 2 1 5 



EXERCISE XXV. 



Parse fully the adjectives in the following : — 

1. "This dress and that by turns you tried." — Tennyson. 2. 
"That sun that warms you here shall shine on me." — Shakespeare. 

3. "Those- thy fears might have wrought fears in me." — Shakespeare. 

4. "Can the false-hearted boy have chosen such a tool as yonder 
fellow?" — Dickens. 5. "Look here, upon this picture, and on this; 
the counterfeit presentment of two brothers." — Shakespeare. 6. "My 
father lived at Blenheim then, yon little stream hard by." — Southey. 

7. ' ' The oracles are dumb ; 

No voice or hideous hum 

Runs thro' the arched roof in words deceiving." — Milton. 

8. " She stepped upon Sicilian grass, 

Demeter's daughter, fresh and fair, 
A child of light, a radiant lass, 

And gamesome as the morning air. " — Jean Ingelow. 



EXERCISE XXVI. 

Parse the nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the following: — 
(a) " Lord ! Thou dost love Jerusalem, 
Once she was all Thy own : 
Her love Thy fairest heritage, 

Her power Thy glory's throne." — Moore. 

(b) "As proper men as ever trod upon neat's leather have gone 
upon my handiwork." — Shakespeare. 

(c) " 0, Sir, to wilful men, 

The injuries that they themselves procure 
Must be their schoolmasters. " — Shakespeare. 

{d) "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, 

As those move easiest who have learned to dance." — Pope. 

(e) " Who said that I had given thee up ? 

Who said that thou wert sold ? " — Mrs Norton. 



EXERCISE XXVII. (The Verb, p. 34). 

1. Define a verb. 2. What are the two great classes into which verbs 
are divided ? 3. Define a transitive verb. 4. Name the ways in which 
an intransitive verb may become transitive. 5. What is the test for a 
prepositional verb ? 6. What is an auxiliary ? 7. Why are auxili- 
aries necessary ? 8. What is voice ? 9. What are the only verbs 
that can be in the passive voice ? 10. Why? 11. How is the passive 
voice formed ? 



216 EXERCISES. 

EXERCISE XXVIH. 

Classify the verbs in the following into transitive and in- 
transitive : — 

{a) " Who reads 

Incessantly, and to his reading brings not 
A spirit and judgment equal or superior, 
Uncertain and unsettled still remains." — Hilton. 

(b) " As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame, 

I lisped in numbers,. for the numbers came." — Pope. 

(c) " I think, articulate, I laugh and weep, 

And exercise all the functions of a man ; 
How then should I and any man that lives 
Be strangers to each other?' — Cowper. 

(d) " A thing of beauty is a joy for ever ; 

Its loveliness increases ; it will never 
Pass into nothingness." — Keats. 

(e) " He prayeth best, who loveth best 

All things, both great and small ; 
Eor the dear God who loveth us, 

He made and loveth all. " — Coleridge. 

EXERCISE XXIX. 

Arrange the following verbs as prepositional or causative : — 
1. The magistrate swore in the constables. 2. The goodness of the 
soil soon raised a crop. 3. I have spoken to a man who once baited a 
hook and drew in a pike. 4. The gardener will fell the tree, and lay 
out the borders. 5. The pirates having jeered at the threats, sank 
the ship. 6. Some of the children will fly kites, others swim boats. 
7. Tom will run his pony up and down. 8. They glory in little 
faults, wink at great ones, and cough down the remonstrances of the 
wise men. 

9. "A falcon, towering in her pride of place, 

Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and killed." — Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE XXX. 

Rewrite the first eight sentences in the foregoing exercise 
in the passive voice. 

EXERCISE XXXI. 

Give particulars of the tense of each of the verbs in the fol- 
lowing : — 

(a) " The king is come to marshal us, all in his armour drest." 

— Macaulay. 
(h) " I would not have believed it unless I had happened to have 
been there." — Dickens. 

(c) " I am, I will, I shall be happy." — Lytton. 



EXERCISES. 217 

(d) You are fighting a shadow, (e) I shall have had enough of this. 
(/) Why came ye hither? (g) Knew ye not what they had lost? 
(h) We know not, neither do we care, (i) A man who had lost his 
way, stopped till a boy came sauntering along, (k) " Am I in the 
right road for London?" said the man. (/) "Yes," was the reply; 
" but you will not get there till you have walked twelve miles." (m) 
" I have been walking three hours already, and I shall have been 
travelling a whole day ere I reach my journey's end." 

EXERCISE XXXII. 

State the mood of each of the verbs in the following, and 
point out the gerunds and participles : — 

(a) "I dare do all that may become a man : 

Who dares do more is none." — Shakespeare. 

(6) " Now, wherefore stopp'st thou me ? " — Coleridge. 

(c) " Truth from his lips prevail'd with double sway, 

And fools who came to scoff remained to pray." — Goldsmith. 

(d) " Well, sit we down, 

And let us hear Bernardo speak of this. " — Shakespeare. 

(e) "I watched the little circles die." — Tennyson. 

(f) " I am ashamed to observe you hesitate." — Scott. 

(g) " Come unto these yellow sands, 

And then take hands ; 

Curtsied when you have, and kissed, 

(The wild waves whist) 

Foot it featly here and there." — Shakespeare. 

(h) "I do not think my sister so to seek." — Milton. 

(i) " Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear 
In all my misery, but thou hast forc'd me 
Out of thine honest truth to play the woman. 
Let's dry our eyes, and thus far hear me, Cromwell." 

— Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE XXXIII. 

Select the auxiliaries from the following sentences, and show 
the force of each : — 

(a) "I did send to you for gold." — Shakespeare, 
(h) " The king is come to marshal us." — Macaulay. 

(c) " Full fathom five thy father lies j 

Of his bones are coral made : 
Those are pearls that were his eyes, 

Nothing of him that doth fade. " — Shakespeare. 

(d) " The lark has sung his carol in the sky, 

The bees have humm'd their noon- tide lullaby." — Rogers. 



218 EXEECISES. 

(e) " He was — whatever thou hast been, 

He is — what thou shalt be." — Montgomery. 

(/) "I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise ? " — 

Shakespeare. 

(g) " Must I then leave you ? " — Id. 

(h) I shall be drowned if none will save me ! {i) Will he not come 
again? (k) We have been thinking over the matter. {I) The 
soldiers are to be marching by six o'clock, (m) By Friday they will 
have been working four days, {n) Do try to come early, (o) He 
could have been there had he wished to have been seen by his old 
friends. 

EXERCISE XXXIV. 

Arrange the verbs in Exercises XXVII. to XXXIII. as 
strong or weak. 

EXERCISE XXXV. 

1. Of what verbs is the verb be made up? 2. Give the four ways 
in which this verb is used. 3. State the use of be in each of the 
following instances: (a) "Whatever is, is right." — Pope, (b) Thou 
art the man. (c) I shall be there, (d) They are to resign, (e) David 
was a bold man. (/) The men will be chosen by lot. (g) He is gone 
to his grave, {h) "Be off ! " cried the old man to the boys who were 
teasing him. 

EXERCISE XXXVI. 

1. Give the mood auxiliaries. 2. Name the tense auxiliaries, and 
give the limitation of each. 3. Why are can and may called defective 
verbs ? 4. In what tense is the verb must never used ? 5. What was 
the original meaning of the word ? 6. And what is its present idea ? 

EXERCISE XXXVII. (Adverbs, p. 57). 

1. Define an adverb. 2. In what two ways may adverbs be classi- 
fied ? 3. Show the twofold function of a conjunctive adverb. 4. Give 
the classification of adverbs according to their meaning. 

EXERCISE XXXVin. 

Arrange as simple or conjunctive the adverbs in the follow- 
ing :— 

1. Come where the moonbeams linger. 2. Where are you going? 
3. Where the bee sucks, there lurk I. 4. Come in. 5. Look out ! 
Here comes the beadle, so let us run. 6. Who's there ? 7. I know 
a bank whereon the wild thyme grows. 8. Then out spake bold 
Horatius. 9. She is beautiful because she is good. 10. Verily 
here are sweetly scented herbs, therefore will we set us down awhile 
till our friends leisurely return. 



EXERCISES. 219 



EXERCISE XXXIX. 
Classify all the adverbs in the following : — 

(a) "Once again we'll sleep secure." — Shakespeare, 

(b) " My father lived at Blenheim then, 

Yon little stream hard by. " — Southey. 

(c) " Thus have I yielded into your hand 

The circle of my glory." — Shakespeare. 

(d) "Now came still evening on." — Milton. 

(e) " Now the great winds shoreward blow, 

Now the salt tides seaward flow." — M. Arnold. 
(/) "We no longer believe in St Edmund." — Carlyle. 
(g) "What so moves thee all at once ? " — Coleridge. 
(h) "Vex not thou the poet's mind." — Tennyson. 

EXERCISE XL. 

Parse the adverbs in the following : — 

(a) "The solemn peaks but to the stars are known, — 

But to the stars, and the cold lunar beams." — M. Arnold, 

(b) "My life is spann'd already." — Shakespeare. 

(c) "You always put things so pleasantly." — Buliver. 

(d) " Slow and sure comes up the golden year." — Tennyson. 

(e) " Not all the pearls Queen Mary wears, 

Nor Margaret's still more precious tears, 
Shall buy his life a day. " — Scott. 

(/) "Therefore make her grave straight." — Shakespeare. 

{g) " Why holds thine eye that melancholy rheum ? " — Id. 

(h) A very inquisitive child once saucily asked of an exceedingly 
needy -looking man, "Where do you most generally dine?" Immedi- 
ately the all but actually starving man replied somewhat sadly, though 
quite smartly withal, "Near anything I may get to eat." 

EXERCISE XLI. 

Parse fully the nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and 
adverbs in the following: — 

(a) " Go out, children, from the mine and from the city, 
Sing out, children, as the little thrushes do : 
Pluck your handfuls of the meadow cowslips pretty, 
Laugh aloud, to feel your fingers let them through." 

— Mrs Browning. 

(b) "None of us yet know, for none of us have yet been taught in 
early youth, what fairy palaces we may build of beautiful thought — 
proof against all adversity. " — Buskin. 



220 EXERCISES. 

EXERCISE XLIL (Prepositions, p. 58). 

Select the prepositions in the following, and say what they 
connect and govern : — 

1. In the corner of the box near the bench behind the door, is the 
picture of a man without a coat to his back. 2. Notwithstanding 
he had returned with wood, they sent for some more. 3. The lady 
in purple is in mourning. 4. Respecting the scholars, all but Charles 
read through the chapter concerning Galileo. 5. Whom are you 
writing to? 6. Come in, Puss, to your kittens. 7. That is the 
book I spoke about. 

EXERCISE XLIII. 

1. Define a preposition. 2. What words are affected by preposi- 
tions ? 3. Give a list of simple prepositions. 4. Show the com- 
position of the following prepositions : but, beside, after, until, aboard, 
beneath, among, beyond. 

EXERCISE XLIV. (Conjunctions, p. 60). 

1. Define a conjunction. 2. What is a subordinate conjunction? 
3. Classify the conjunctions in the following : — 

(a) ' ' My hair is grey, but not with years, 
Nor grew it white 
In a single night. " — Byron. 

(6) " Neither a borrower nor a lender be." — Shakespeare. 

(c) " Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen." — Milton. 

(d) "Man never is, but always to be blest." — Pope. 

(e) "Must I then leave you ? " — Shakespeare. 

(f) "Wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought." — Young. 

(g) "I saw Mark Antony offer him a crown ; yet it was not a crown 

neither. " — Shakespeare. 

EXERCISE XLV. (Syntax, p. 64). 

1. What determines the "part of speech" a word is? 2. Define 
syntax. 3. Into what two parts may it be divided ? 4. What two 
questions might be asked concerning each word in a sentence ? 

5. State the principal concords existing in the English language. 

6. Name the chief instances of government in our language. 

EXERCISE XLVI. 

Give full particulars of all nominatives in the following 
quotations : — 

(a) " So work the honey bees, 

Creatures that by a rule in nature teach 

The art of order to a peopled kingdom. " — Shakespeare, 



EXERCISES. 221 

{b) " Clatters each plank and swinging chain." — Scott. 

(c) "A white wall is the paper of a fool." — G. Herbert. 

(d) "I that speak to thee am he." — Bible. 

(e) " Thus now alone he conqueror remains." — Spenser. 

(/) " He returned a friend who came a foe." — Pope. 

(g) " Ah, then, what honest triumph flush'd my breast ! 

This truth once known — To bless is to be blest ! " — Goldsmith. 

(h) " Ho ! gallant nobles of the League, look that your arms be 
bright. " — Macaulay. 

EXERCISE XLVII. 

Explain the possessives in the following : — 

(a) " And hers shall be the breathing balm, .... 

And beauty born of murmuring sound, 
Shall pass into her face." — Wordsworth. 

(b) "Then shall man's pride and dulness comprehend 

His actions', passions', being's use and end. " — Pope. 

(c) " Ere thou remark another's sin, 

Bid thy own conscience look within. " — Gay. 

(d) "Anything that money would buy had been his son's." — 

Thackeray. 

(e) "Though dark be my way, since He is my guide, 

'Tis mine to obey, 'tis His to provide." — /. Newton. 

EXERCISE XLVIII. 
Give full particulars of all the objectives in the following : — 

(a) "Your tanner will last you nine year." — Shakespeare. 

(b) " There were some that ran, and some that leapt 

Like troutlets in a pool. " — Hood. 

(c) "He has two essential parts of a courtier, pride and ignorance. 

— Ben Jonson. 

(d) "I would gladly look him in the face." — Shakespeare. 

(e) " Clearing the fence, he cried " Halloo ! " 

(/) "They made him captain, and he gave them orders to sail the 
boat six leagues south of the point." 

EXERCISE XLIX. 

1. How are most adjectives inflected? 2. In what two ways are 
adjectives used? Classify those in the following in accordance with 
your last answer : — 

(a) " When I was dry with rage and extreme toil, 
Breathless and faint, leaning upon my sword, 
Came there a certain lord, neat, trimly dress'd." — Shakespeare. 



222 ' EXERCISES. 

(6) " Still more majestic shalt thou rise, 

More dreadful from each foreign stroke ; 
As the loud blast that tears the skies 

Serves but to root thy native oak." — Thomson. 

(c) "They considered themselves fortunate in making the children 
happy, and in rendering the despairing hopeful." 



EXERCISE L. 

1. In what way is a participle an adjective ? 2. What function of 
a verb does it retain ? 3. What number is used with the distribu- 
tives ? 4. Say all that is necessary of the adjectives below : — 

(a) " Each horseman drew his battle blade, 

And furious every charger neighed." — Campbell. 

(b) " He made me mad 

To see him shine so brisk and smell so sweet, 

And talk so like a waiting-gentlewoman." — Shakespeare, 

(c) " Sweet Isle ! within thy rock-girt shore is seen 

Nature in her sublimest dress arrayed. — E. FosJcett. 

(d) " Into the valley of death 

Rode the six hundred." — Tennyson. 

(e) "A form more fair, a face more sweet, 

Ne'er hath it been my lot to meet. — /. G. Whittier. 

(/) " Hard lot ! encompass'd with a thousand dangers ; 
Weary, faint, trembling with a thousand terrors, 
I'm call'd, if vanquish'd, to receive a sentence 
Worse than Abiram's." — Cowper. 



EXERCISE LI. 
Show the agreement of the pronouns with nouns in the fol- 

anncr • 



lowing : 



(a) " On she came with a cloud of canvas, 

Right against the wind that blew." — Coleridge, 

(6) " Who said that I had given thee up ? 

Who said that thou wert sold ? " — Mrs Norton. 

(c) "She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd, 

And I lov'd her that she did pity them." — Shakespeare. 

(d) ' ' The eye — it cannot choose but see ; 

We cannot bid the ear be still ; 
Our bodies feel, where'er they be, 

Against, or with our will. " — Wordsworth. 






EXERCISES. 223 



EXERCISE LII. 

Show the concords of the antecedents and relatives in the 
following : — 

(a) " Now glory to the Lord of Hosts, from whom all glories are/' 

— Macaulay. 

(6) " Not a pine in my grove is there seen, 

But with tendrils of woodbine is bound. " — Shenstone. 

(c) " This sword a dagger had, his page, 

That was but little for his age. " — Butler. 

(d) ' ' My banks they are furnished with bees, 

Whose murmur invites one to sleep. " — Shenstone. 

(e) " Then palaces shall rise ; the joyful son 

Shall finish what his short-lived sire begun. " — Pope. 



EXERCISE Lin. 

Show the concord of each verb in the following with its 
subject, and quote the rule in each case : — 

(a) "I sing the birth was born to-night, 

The author both of life and light. " — Ben Jonson. 

(b) " Blow, blow, thou winter wind, 

Thou art not so unkind 

As man's ingratitude." — Shakespeare. 

(c) " Sundays the pillars are 

On which heaven's palace arched lies." — G. Herbert. 

(d) " Can storied urn or animated bust 

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ? " — Gray. 

(e) "Our company were now arrived within a mile of Highgate. " 

— Fielding. 
(/) (i Neither a borrower nor a lender be. " — Shakespeare. 



EXERCISE LIV. 

Point out the governing verbs and their objects in the fol- 
lowing : — 

(a) " He gave to misery all he had, a tear." — Gray. 

(b) " They made me queen of the May." — Tennyson. 

(c) " Thou hast a tongue, come, let us hear its tune." 

— Horace Smith. 



224 EXEKCISES. 

{d) " Past all dishonour, 

Death has left on her 

Only the beautiful."—? 7 . Hood. 

(e) " Methinks we must have known some former state." 

— L. E. Landon, 

{/) " To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, 

And read their history in a nation's eyes, 
Their lot forbade."— Gray. 



EXERCISE LV. 

Explain fully the mood of each verb in the following : — 

(a) " Had I a heart for falsehood framed, 

I ne'er could injure you." — Sheridan. 

(b) " The good of ancient times let others state ; 

I think it lucky I was born so late." — Sydney Smith. 

(c) " Oh, then, while hums the earliest bee, 

Where verdure fires the plain, 
Walk thou with me, and stoop to see 
The glories of the lane ! " — Eb. Elliott. 

(d) " They make obeisance and retire in haste, 

Too soon to seek again the watery waste : 

Yet they repine not — so that Conrad guides, 

And who dare question aught when he decides ? " — Byron. 



EXERCISE LVI. 

Distinguish between gerunds and infinitives in the follow- 
ing :— 

(a) " To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 

To throw a perfume on the violet, 

To smooth the ice, or add another hue 

Unto the rainbow, or with taper light 

To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish, 

Is wasteful and ridiculous excess." — Shakespeare. 

(b) " To make mankind, in conscious virtue bold, 

Live o'er each scene, and be what they behold : 
For this the tragic muse first trod the stage, 
Commanding tears to stream through every age." — Pope. 

(c) u Good-night, good-night ! parting is such sweet sorrow, 

That I shall say good-night till it be morrow." — Shakespeare. 

(d) " In framing an artist, art hath thus decreed, 

To make some good, but others to exceed." — Id. 

(e) " Giving is better than receiving." 



EXERCISES. 225 



EXERCISE LVIL 

Explain all the adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions in 
the following : — 

(a) " Bunyan's famed Pilgrim rests that shelf upon : 

A genius rare but rude was honest John." — Crabbe. 

(6) "A second man I honour, and still more highly: him who is 
seen toiling for the spiritually indispensable ; not daily bread, but the 
bread of life." — Carlyle. 

(c) " This only grant me, that my means may lie 

Too low for envy, for contempt too high." — Cowley. 

(d) " A man that looks on glass, 

On it may stay his eye ; 
Or, if he pleaseth, through it pass, 

And then the heavens espy." — G. Herbert. 

(e) " All precious things, discovered late, 

To those that seek them issue forth ; 
For Love in sequel works with Fate." — Tennyson. 



ANALYSIS (p. 86). 

EXERCISE I. 

1. What is a sentence? 2. Of what two parts must it consist? 
3. What can form a subject? 4. Define a predicate. 5. What is 
necessary for the completion of some predicates ? 6. Why are these 
completions called objects ? 

EXERCISE II. 

Arrange in columns the subjects in the following, and say 
of what each consists : — 

(a) The potato is wholesome, (b) Eat it. (c) " Hush ! " said the 
mother, (d) " Hurrah ! " rang from the ranks, (e) The lazy take 
most pains, (f) Thinking leads to action, (g) To learn meagrely 
means to beg eagerly. (h) Who loves not liberty ? (i) Amassing 
wealth oft ruins health. (Jc) "Bravo!" shouted the audience. (I) 
Laughing is contagious. 

exercise rn. 

Supply subjects, and so make sentences of the following : — 

(a) shall clothe a man with rags. (6) catch mice, (c) 

is a good dog. (d) tips the little hills with gold, (e) 

discovered America. (/) was killed by Brutus. {g) 

deserves play, (h) does not love his home ? (i) makes 

a glad father. (Ic) fell great oaks. 

O 



226 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE IV. 

Select the predicates in the following, and say of what each 
consists : — 

1. A cheery old soul lives here. 2. It rains. 3. A live dog is 
better than a dead lion. 4. I am not the king. 5. The idle pro- 
crastinate. 6. The dead alone are happy. 7. We are all here. 8. 
Charity beareth all things. 9. Heroes die once. 10. No one loves a 
coward. 

EXERCISE V. 

Supply predicates to the following subjects : — 

1. Short reckonings . 2. Boys . 3. A man . 4. 

Gold . 5. Diamonds . 6. A stitch in time . 7. 

David . 8. Lazy workmen . 9. Puss in boots . 10. 

Truth . 11. Beauty . 12. To be idle . 

EXERCISE VI. 

Select the objects in the following, and say of what each 
consists : — 

(a) We loved him dearly. (b) The preacher cries "Prepare!'' 
(c) Ruskin adores the beautiful, {d) Cats love to lie basking (e) 
Each man plucked a rose. (/) Who does not love singing? (g) 
Friends dislike saying good-bye ! (h) Him they found in great 
distress, (i) He destroyed all. (k) She left none behind. (I) One 
sailor saved the other, (m) One good turn deserves another. 

EXERCISE VII. 

Select the objects, distinguishing between direct and in- 
direct : — 

1. Give the knave a groat. 2. Thrice he offered him the erowm 
3. He handed his daughter down-stairs. 4. They handed the visitors 
programmes. 5. The weather promises the anglers fine sport. 6. The 
boatswain taught the midshipman swimming. 7. Grant us a holiday. 
8. The fox paid the crow great attention. 9. Thomas posted his uncle 
a letter. 10. The sailor-boys often bring their friends curiosities. 
11. Play the children a tune. 

exercise vrn. 

Supply objects to the following : — 

1. Waste brings . 2. Perseverance merits . 3. She 

taught the little a new . 4. The postman brought 

a . 5. Few men enjoy . 6. He gave the poor a 

new . 7. The Queen prorogued . 



EXERCISES. 



227 



FORMS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES 
SCHEME I. 



Subject. 


Predicate. 


Object. 


The sun 


shines. 




The soldiers 


were brave. 




A good son 


obeys 


his parents. 


Ripe corn-fields 


always rejoice 


the farmer's heart. 


The child 


appears ill. 





SCHEME H. 



Subject. 


Enlargement. 


Predicate. 


Extension. 


Object. 


Enlargement. 


Thompson 


the carpenter 


mended 


very soon 


the gate 


broken. 


The company 


of huntsmen 


had taken 


early next 
morning 


departure 


their. 


The princes 


of Europe 


have found 


recently 


a plan 


better. 


Parmenio 


the Grecian 


had done 


once 


something 


pleasing to 
the multi- 
tude. 



SCHEME III. 



1. Maud Miiller 

2. on a summer's day, 

3. Raked 

4. the meadow 

5. sweet with hay. 

1. But 

2. knowledge 

3. to their eyes 

4. her ample 

5. page, 

6. Rich with the spoils of time 

7. did unroll 

8. ne'er. 



Subject. 

Extension of predicate (3). 

Predicate. 

Object. 

Enlargement of object (4). 

(connective word). 

Subject. 

Extension of predicate (7). 

Enlargement of object (5). 

Object. 

Enlargement of object (5). 

Predicate. 

Extension of predicate (7). 



228 



EXERCISES. 



SCHEME IV. 

Analyse : — 

" Those who are conversant with books well know how often they 
mislead us, when we have not a living monitor at hand to assist us in 
comparing theory with practice." — Junius. 



D.- 



1. 


Those 


Subject (6). 


2. 


who 


Subject (3). 


3. 


are conversant with 


Predicate ( = understand). 


4. 


books 


Object (3). 


5. 


well 


Extension of manner (6). 


6. 


know 


Predicate. 


7. 


how often 


Extension of time (9). 


8. 


they 


Subject (9). 


9. 


mislead 


Predicate. 


10. 


us, 


Object (9). 


11. 


when 


( Conjunction). 


12. 


we 


Subject (13). 


13. 


have 


Predicate. 


14. 


not 


Extension of negation (13), 


15. 


a living 


Enlargement (16). 


16. 


monitor 


Object (13). 


17. 


at hand 


Extension of place (13). 


18. 


to assist us in comparing 
theory with practice. 


Enlargement (16). 



A. Principal sentence. 

B. Adjective sentence to (A) (1). 

C. Noun sentence to (A) (6). 

D. Adverbial sentence to (C) (9). 



EXERCISES. 



229 



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230 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE IX. 

Analyse the following according to Scheme I. :— 

(a) Cowards fear themselves, (b) He appears earnest, (c) Swim- 
ming teaches self-reliance, (d) To labour is to pray, (e) "Beware," 
said the sentry. ( /*) Make haste, (g) The bells are chiming, (h) 
George told his father the truth, (i) Stop, (k) Plumbers stop the 
leaks. {I) The pipe leaks, (to) The field yields the farmer a fortune. 
(n) Love not sleep, (o) Here we are. (p) The child brought the 
invalid a garland, (q) The captain will give the crew a warning, (r) 
Luna shows the traveller the way. (s) Phoebus loves gilding the 
corn-fields, (t) Chanticleer announces the morn, (u) Mary, call the 
cattle. 



EXERCISE X. 

Of what may enlargements consist 1 

Point out the enlargements, and say of what kind each is : — 

1. A good little girl sat under a tree. 2. Wilful waste makes 
woful want. 3. A desire to excel actuates Smith, the foreman. 4. 
A ramble on a summer evening restores the drooping spirit. 5. Feel- 
ing sorry, he gave the poor old fellow a hearty meal. 6. William, 
the captain of the school, knowing the game, taught the new scholars 
the rules. 7. One man's meat is another man's poison. 8. Re- 
membering your duty, visit the sick. 



EXERCISE XL 
Supply enlargements in Exercise IX. 

EXERCISE XII. 

Select the extensions in the following, and say of what each 
consists : — ■ 

1. Sweetly sing soft songs to me. 2. In a whisper she gave them 
the order. 3. They filled the gardens quickly and completely. 4. 
Inch by inch the spider travelled. 5. I come to bury Csesar. 6. 
Listen patiently to hear the nightingale. 7. Everything passed off 
successfully. 8. The tide came creeping up the beach. 9. The old 
man walks with two sticks. 

EXERCISE XIII. 
Supply extensions to Exercise IX. 



EXERCISES. 231 

EXERCISE XIV. 

Analyse the following sentences according to Scheme II. :— 

(a) "I will make thee beds of roses." — G. Marloioe. 

(b) "Then came the Autumne all in yellow clad." — Spenser. 

(c) " Give me my scallop-shell of quiet, 

My staff of faith to walk upon." — Raleigh. 

(d) " Thus clad and fortified, Sir Knight 

From peaceful home set forth to fight." — Butler. 

(e) " Dear Thomas, didst thou ever pop 

Thy head into a tinman's shop ? " — M. Prior. 

(/) " One morn a Peri at the gate 

Of Eden stood, disconsolate." — T. Moore. 

(g) ' ' The spirits of your fathers 

Shall start from every wave." — Campbell. 

(h) " The castled crag of Drachenfels 

Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine." — Byron. 

EXERCISE XV. 

Number the parts of the following sentences according to> 
Scheme III., and say what each is : — 

(a) " Sometime we'll angle in the brook, 

The freckled trout to take. " — M . Drayton. 

(6) " The shepherd swains shall dance and sing 

For thy delight each May morning." — C. Marlowe. 

(c) " Read in these roses the sad story 

Of my hard fate, and your own glory." — Garew. 

(d) " Thy gentle flows of guiltless joys, 

On fools and villains ne'er descend. " — Johnson. 

(e) " The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face, 

They, round the ingle, form a circle wide." — Burns. 

EXERCISE XVI. 
Analyse the following sentences : — 

(a) "Attend, ye gentle powers of musical delight." — AJcenside. 

(b) ■ " Through the trembling ayre 
Sweet-breathing Zephyrus did softly play." — Spenser. 

(c) " When then shall Hope and Fear their objects find ? " — Johnson* 

(d) " Close by the regal chair 

Fell Thirst and Famine scowl 

A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. " — Gray. 

(e) " The Sundays of man's life, 

Threaded together on time's string, 



232 EXERCISES. 

Make bracelets to adorn the wife 

Of the eternal glorious king." — George Herbert. 

(f) "The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty, 

For want of fighting was grown rusty. " — Butler. 

(g) "With beating heart to the task he went." — Scott, 
(h) " How calmly gliding through the dark -blue sky, 

The midnight moon ascends ! " — Southey. 

EXERCISE XVII. 

1. "What is a compound sentence? 2. How are co-ordinate sen- 
tences sometimes contracted ? 3. Show that relative pronouns are 
sometimes used as conjunctions. 4. Analyse the following compound 
sentences according to Scheme II. : — 

(a) " Of conversation sing an ample theme, 

And drink the tea of Heliconian stream." — Chatterton. 

(b) " Come forth into the light of things, 

Let Nature be your teacher. " — Wordsworth. 

(c) "He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes, 

He kissed their drooping leaves." — Longfellow. 
{d) " On piety, humanity is built ; 

And, on humanity, much happiness." — Young, 
(e) " On the green bank I sat and listened long." — Dry den. 
if) " 0, young Lochinvar is come out of the west, 

Through all the wide Border his steed was the best, 

And, save his good broadsword, he weapons had none ; 

He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone. " — Scott. 



EXERCISE XVIII. 

Expand the adjectives in the following into phrases 

1. A merciful man considers his beast. 

2. The mistress scolded the lazy servant. 

3. A ragged man went down the lane. 

4. The plague carried off the young ones. 

5. Numerous birds were found dead. 

6. Sailors dislike a dead calm. 



EXERCISE XIX. 

Expand the adverbs in the following into phrases : — 

1. Green seldom tries the eye. 

2. The soldiers rested there. 

3. The man answered the charge easily. 

4. HI weeds grow apace. 
•5. Dead dogs never bark. 
•6. Come quickly. 



EXERCISES. 233 

EXERCISE XX. 
Analyse the sentences in Exercises XVIII. and XIX. 

EXERCISE XXL 

1. What is a complex sentence ? 2. Define a subordinate sentence. 
3. In what three ways can subordinate sentences occur ? 4. How can 
subordinate sentences be co-ordinate ? 5. Make the following simple 
sentences complex by expanding the adjective into an adjectival sen- 
tence : — 

(a) Empty vessels make the most noise. 

(b) The kitchen clock keeps time. 

(c) Small strokes fell great oaks. 

(d) A hard hand often owns a soft heart. 

(e) The relentless reaper destroyed the lovely bloom. 
(/) Is this the Thracian robber ? 

(g) A modest violet grew in a shady bed. 
(h) I said to my nearer comrade, " Hush ! " 

EXERCISE XXII. 

Make subordinate sentences by the expansion of the adverbs 
in the following : — 

1. He writes legibly. 

2. The king behaved shamefully. 

3. The rich deride the poor very seldom. 

4. Men often think themselves immortal. 

5. Demosthenes gradually became free of speech. 

6. Stephenson overcame difficulties bravely. 

EXERCISE XXIII. 

Change the subjects or objects into sentences : — 

1. It is good for us to be here. 

2. He soon learnt to read. 

3. To love one's child is natural. 

4. Carelessness brings its punishment. 

5. Being deserving should precede success. 

6. Reigning in peace is more glorious than dying in war. 

7. Borrowing means sorrowing. 

8. Lending is not always befriending. 

EXERCISE XXIV. 

Ajialyse the following sentences according to Scheme IV. : — 
(a) " The harp that once through Tara's halls 
The soul of music shed, 
Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls 
As if that soul were fled. " — Moore. 



234 EXERCISES. 

(b) " The autumn winds rushing 

Waft the leaves that are searest, 
But our flower was in flushing 

When blighting was nearest." — Scott. 

(c) "Her beads while she numbered, the baby still slumbered, 

And smiled in her face, while she bended her knee. 

' Oh ! blessed be that warning, my child, thy sleep adorning, 

For I know that the angels are whispering with thee. ' " 

— S. Lover. 



EXERCISE XXV. 

Analyse the following sentences according to Scheme V. :— 

(N.B. — This is the scheme prescribed by the Department for the scholar 
ship examination.) 

(a) " And ye that byde behinde, 
Have ye none other trust, 
As ye of clay were cast by kynd, 
So shall ye waste to dust." — Sir T. Wyatt. 

(6) " Ah ! yet, e'er I descend into the grave, 

May I a small house and large garden have ! 
And a few friends, and many books, both true, 
Both wise, and both delightful too ! " — Cowley. 

(c) " Ring ye the bells, ye young men of the town, 
And leave your wonted labours for this day : 
This day is holy ; do you write it down, 
That ye for ever it remember may. " — Drayton. 

{d) "This above all — to thine own self be true ; 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man. " — Shakespeare. 



EXERCISE XXVI. 

Analyse, as in the preceding : — 

(a) "Take physic, pomp ; 

Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel ; 
That thou may'st shake the superflux to them, 
And show the heavens more just." — Shakespeare. 

(6) "When God with us was dwelling here, 
In little babes He took delight ; 
Such innocents as thou, my dear, 

Are ever precious in His sight." — G. Wither. 

(c) " That man is freed from servile bands, 
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall ; 
Lord of himself, though not of lands, 

And having nothing, yet hath all." — Wotton. 



EXERCISES. f 235 

(d) * ' The seas are quiet when the winds give o'er ; 
So calm are we when passions are no more ; 
For then we know how vain it was to boast 

Of feeling things too certain to be lost." — Waller. 

EXERCISE XXVII. 

Analyse, as before : — 

(a) " Let me tell the adventurous stranger, 
In our calmness lies our danger ; 
Like a river's silent running, 
Stillness shows our depth and cunning." — Durfey. 

(b) " Presently my soul grew stronger ; hesitating then no longer, 
' Sir,' said I, 'or madam, truly your forgiveness I implore ; 
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, 
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, 
That I scarce was sure I heard you. ' " — Poe. 

(c) " ' My Lord has need of these flowerets gay,* 
The reaper said, and smiled ; 
'Dear tokens of the earth are they, 

Where He was once a child.' " — Longfellow. 



WOKD-BUILDING (p. 116). 

EXERCISE I. 

1. "What is a root? 2. Distinguish between root and stem. 3. To 
what are inflexions made ? 4. Define derivative. 5. What are pre- 
fixes and suffixes ? 6. Give a general rule for their use. 7. What is a 
hybrid ? 8. Define compound as applied to words. 9. Say of each of 
the syllables of the following words whether it is a prefix, a suffix, a 
root, a derivative or an inflexion : un-law-ful, male-child-ren, dis-lik- 
ing, short-sight-ed, ink-stand, man-serv-ant. 

EXERCISE II. 

Show that the following words are compounds of two nouns :— 
Monday, wheatfield, rainbow, homestead, keystone, Ladyday, 
Michaelmas, costermonger, steamship, sheriff, viceroy, and drake. 

EXERCISE III. 

Of what Part of Speech is each of the words of the following com- 
pounds ? — 

Whetstone, outlay, shepherd, soft-soap, nightmare, backbone, scape' 
grace, lady, wheatear, fieldfare, upstart, and steward. 



236 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE IV. 

In the following compound adjectives say to what Class of Word 
each part belongs : — 

Sky blue, stiffnecked, Lord- May or -like, overreaching, stonecold, stark- 
wad, weather-beaten, threadbare, wardrobe, hairsplitting, icebound, awe- 
stricken, and footsore. 

EXERCISE V. 

What other Parts of Speech have been used to make up the fol- 
lowing compound verbs ? — 

Outface, handcuff, clearstarch, outnumber, whitewash, ingather, out- 
bid. 

EXERCISE VI. 

Comment on each of the following adverbs : — 

Needs, aboard, afloat, well, thither, how, withal, albeit, seldom, rather, 
whilst, whence. 

EXERCISE VII. 

Show the force of each of the prefixes in the following words : — 
Unloose, unthankful, forehead, bewail, withdrew, misrepresent, begrime, 
■wanhope, gainsay, behoof, forlorn, benighted, atone. 

EXERCISE VIII. 

Justify the use of the prefixes in the following by the meaning of 
each word : — 

Engrave, offcast, overdone, inmost, overland, underpay, outcome, 
thoroughfare, embalm, overstep, welfare. 

EXERCISE IX. 

Name the prefixes in the following, showing, where necessary, the 
assimilation : — 

Allure, acclaim, abstract, absolve, assume, affront, aspire, attract, 
arrest, aggravate, address, pardon. 

EXERCISE X. 

Show the force of the prefixes in — biped, ambient, circumnavigate, 
anticipate, coeval, desuetude, cispontine, transit, countenance, country- 
dance, corrode, desiccate, emigrate, extramural. 

EXERCISE XI. 

Account for the variations from the original prefix in each of the 
following : — 

Differ, irregular, impending, illiberal, ignoble, embrace, occur, sedition. 



EXERCISES. 237 



EXERCISE XII. 

Show the value of the prefixes in the following : — 

Interlude, nonpareil, malefactor, international, intramural, penumbra, 
remit, occasion, permeate, oblige, post-obit, predicate, retrovert, preterite, 
secure, prevent. 

EXERCISE XIII. 

Explain the prefixes, noting the cases of assimilation : — 
Vicar, suffer, surfeit, viscount, traduce, trespass, succeed, unified, sub- 
trahend, segregate, succumb, ultramarine, superhuman, suffix, surface. 



EXERCISE XIV. 

Give instances of in becoming il, ir, im, ig ; and of ob becoming oc, 
of, o, op. State a general rule for such changes. 

EXERCISE XV. 

Select the prefixes, and justify the use of each : — 

Epidemic, endemic, autonomy, eclectic, dyspepsia, archiepiscopal, 
diatonic, cataclysm, apostasy, antipathy, anagram, catastrophe, eccentric, 
perimeter. 

EXERCISE XVI. 

Show the value of the prefixes in — monologue, Pantheon, syllable, 
metathesis, periosteum, hyposulphite, programme, hyperbole, Jiemiplegia, 
euphony, synthesis, Polynesia, monarchy. 

EXERCISE XVII. 

Give the root and the suffix in each of the following : — 
Fodder, trickster, thrift, baxter, penmanship, hammock, loveliness, 
straddle, sapling, chippings, sisterhood, carter, starling, collier, sawyer. 

EXERCISE XVm. 

Explain fully the suffixes in the following : — 

Mitten, earldom, stealth, breadth, handicraft, rimecraft, drunkard, 
laddie, hardship, haft, spindle, shuttle, brazier, whiting, hilt, handle. 

EXERCISE XIX. 

Show the effect of the suffix, by giving the meanings of the follow- 
ing words : — 

Frolicsome, knotty, drowned, clayey, woollen, leeward, awkward, 
scornful, shamefaced, saintlike, knavish, friendly, Spanish, bootless, 
sweetish, scuttled, glad, left. 



238 EXERCISES. 



EXERCISE XX. 

In the following adverbs show the force of the suffixes, noting 
hybrids in passing : — 

Always, straightway, candidly, duly, once, mysteriously, nowise, 
sulkily, stealthily, sidelong, seldom, peculiarly. 

EXERCISE XXI. 

Show the effect of the suffix in each of the following verbs : — 
Stalk, snivel, falter, strengthen, flush, twitter, dribble, trundle, gush, 
glister, blush, draggle. 

EXERCISE XXII. 

In the following nouns show the value of each suffix : — 

Actor, testament, brigandage, librarian, consonant, guttural, resident, 

radiance, patrimony, tension, lapidary, graduate, conduct, presbyter, 

reticule. 

EXERCISE XXIII. 

Explain each of the component parts of the following hybrids : — 
Colour, frailty, bigamy, atonement, realize, bondage, starvation, 
foreigner, bilingualism, unjustly, grandfather, martyrdom, ungrateful, 
handkerchief, unconceitedly , falsehood, demigod, witticism, unacted, art- 
ful, Cockneyism, journalist, blackguardism, cerecloth, druggist, surname. 

EXERCISE XXIV. 
Give the meanings of the suffixes in Exercise XXIII. 

EXERCISE XXV. 

1. What are the following pairs of words called? Potion and 
poison; cadence and chance. 2. Give the corresponding word to each 
of the following : benison, chattels, malediction, channel, hotel, redemp- 
tion. 3. Give the meanings of the suffixes. 

EXERCISE XXVI. 

Give the meaning of each of the suffixes in the following ad- 
jectives : — 

Arabesque, ratable, torrid, arenaceous, mundane, sequent, 'peninsular, 
riparian, aromatic, ductile, pedantic, submissive, feminine, virulent, 
jocose, valedictory, moribund, umbrageous. 

EXERCISE XXVII. 

1. Arrange the following words and their doublets in two columns, 
distinguishing the French from the Latin. 2. Explain the suffixes in 
the words and the doublets you supply. Loyal, regal, fragile, caitiff, 
second, particle, sample, species. 



EXERCISES. 239 



EXERCISE XXVni. 

In the following verbs explain the suffixes : — 

Amplify, expedite, estimate, coalesce, deify, publish, pacify, alienate, 
^mbelUsh, permeate, extinguish. 

EXERCISE XXIX. 

Show the force of the suffixes in the following, distinguishing be- 
tween the Greek and hybrid words : — 

Axiomatic, apostate, philanthropy, witticism, theorist, nepotism, paral- 
ysis, deism, pessimist, panorama, minimise. 

EXERCISE XXX. 

Show the derivation of the following, carefully noting hybrids : — 
Broth, bough, gnaw, father, bier, brick, know, batch, beetle, kitten, 

quickset, beadle, chilblain, net, jetsam, nickname, borrow, blush, kind, 

mead, bakery, club, bugle, draught, ivindow, eyelet. 



EXERCISE XXXI. 

Derive the following words : — 

Nightingale, orchard, wright, wrong, grove, whole, trade, stock, taught, 
twig, till, garlic, lady, lodestar, wake, might, nozzle, stile, scoop, waddle, 
lair, pickerel, scuttle, slog, weft, wanton, reap, scrape, sleeve. 



EXERCISE XXXn. 

Select from the following Latin words those coming through the 
French, and give their derivation : — 

Inert, claret, ditto, arcade, precinct, indent, peal, ancestor, Decem- 
ber, courage, city, meridian, cordial, clause, deign, donor, April, excuse, 
occur, course, damsel, domineer, chapter, alto. 



EXERCISE XXXIII. 

From the following select those words coming direct from the Latin, 
and give their derivation : — 

Exculpate, alimony, reception, altercation, deception, chant, agile, mis- 
creant, agrarian, excuse, equinox, brief, cruise, bissextile, corpse, clam- 
our, eager, auction. 

EXERCISE XXXIV. 

From the following list select the words coming indirectly from the 
Latin, and give their derivation : — 

Fount, domiciliary, colloquy, mirage, friar, relict, infringe, liable, 



240 ' EXERCISES. 

force, religion, affluent, leaven, flexible, renegade, collapse, dismount) 
feat, profile, conjoint, annex, exhibit, facet, grateful, memoir. 



EXERCISE XXXV. 

Select the words of direct Latin origin : — 

Dormouse, fusible, duke, profound, ludicrous, genteel, manse, redeem, 
gesture, absolute, aberration, progress, scent, probity, poignant, repair, 
quarry, vow, tense, terrible, urbane, insidious, sexton, sacrilege, plausible. 



EXERCISE XXXVI 

Give the derivation of each of the following words : — 
Date, cosmetic, surgeon, nausea, dogma, economy, dynamite, catarrh, 
hematite, idiot, melancholy, hieroglyphic. 



EXERCISE XXXVII. 

Give two roots for each of the following words : — 
Hypocrite, aerolite, demagogue, onomatopoetic, lithotomy, tetrarch, 
kaleidoscope, hydrophobia, heliotrope, catastrophe, evangelist. 



EXERCISE XXXVni. 

State the origin of the following words : — 

Lizard Point, panic, tantalise, petrel, chimera, cravat, cicerone, mar- 
tinet, dunce, euphuistic, saturnine, hermetically. 



EXERCISE XXXIX. 

Trace the following words to their origin : — 

Peach, cherry, damson, rhubarb, pheasant, dollar, florin, guinea, 
solecism, pistol, laconic, Utopian, lumber. 



EXERCISE XL. 

Show the origin of the following words : — 

Babble, intoxicate, gadfly, belfry, liquorice, bustard, luncheon, easel, 
buttery, custard, sheaf, carouse, stirrup, causeway, treacle, crayfish, 
verdigris. 

EXERCISE XLI. 

Compare the original with the modern meaning of the following 
words : — 

Sycophant, allow, restive, gazette, amuse, handsome, awkward, knave, 
blackguard, mere, brat, painful, censure, cunning, preposterous, silly, 
vivacity. 



EXERCISES. 241 



PLAN FOE PARSING. 
When parsing a word observe the following rules : — 

(i) Use no abbreviation that is vague ; avoid the possibility of being 
misunderstood. 

(ii) When any other word is quoted, underline it, or use marks of 
quotation. 

(iii) Use the following terms, when applicable, and in the order as 
arranged : 

NOUNS. — KIND. Proper; Common; Collective; Abstract. 

GENDER. Masculine; Feminine; Common; Neuter. 

NUMBER. Singular; Plural. 

PERSON. First; Second; Third. 

CASE. Nominative, subject of the verb ; in appo- 
sition with ; of address (Vocative) ; 

absolute ; after copulative verb . 

Possessive, limiting the noun . 

Objective, governed directly by the transitive, 
factitive, causative, prepositional, or cognate 

verb, or the participle ; or indirectly 

by the verb or participle (Dative) ; or 

adverbial object ; or governed by the pre- 
position ; or by the governing Adjec- 
tive ; or in apposition with . 

PRONOUNS. — KIND. Personal; Relative, agreeing with its 
antecedent in gender, person, and number ; 
Interrogative ; Indefinite ; Reciprocal ; 
Emphatic; Reflexive; 

GENDER, 

NUMBER, v 

PERSON, 

CASE. 



242 EXERCISES. 

ADJECTIVES. — KIND. Qualitative, positive, comparative, or 

superlative degree, going with the noun ; 

Quantitative, indefinite or definite, nu- 
meral, cardinal, or ordinal, or distributive, 

limiting the noun ; Demonstrative, 

pointing out the noun . 



VERBS. — CLASS. Transitive (active or passive Voice); 
Intransitive ; 
Auxiliary, of voice, mood, tense, or emphasis. 

CONJUGATION. Strong or Weak. 

MOOD. Indicative, assertive or interrogative ; 

Imperative; Subjunctive; Infinitive (nomina- 
tive, objective, or gerundial). 

TENSE. Present; Past; Future. Perfect (complete), 
imperfect (incomplete), indefinite, continuous 
(progressive). 



PERSON, 
NUMBER, 



} Agreeing with the subject . 



(PARTICIPLE) (Active, qualifying the noun or pronoun 

, and governing the noun or pronoun 

; or Passive). 



ADVERBS.— Of TIME, PLACE, MANNER, ASSERTION, or REA- 



SONING, modifying the verb ; of DEGREE 

modifying the adverb or adjective . 

DEGREE of comparison (Pos. ; Comp. ; Sup.) 



PREPOSITIONS.— SIMPLE or COMPOUND, governing the noun 
or pronoun . 



CONJUNCTIONS.— CO-ORDINATE. 
SUBORDINATE. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 243 



SELECTIONS FROM QUESTIONS SET AT THE 

PUPIL-TEACHER AND SCHOLARSHIP 

EXAMINATIONS IN ENGLAND. 



The figures following some of the Questions refer to the page in Meiklejohn's Grammar. 



PUPIL-TEACHERS.— FIRST YEAR. 

Requirements. — Parsing and analysis of simple sentences, with 
knowledge of the ordinary terminations of English words. Writing 
from memory the substance of a passage of simple prose, read with 
ordinary quickness. 

SET A. 

1. " Toll for the brave ! 

Brave Kempenfelt is gone. 
His last sea-fight is fought; 
His work of glory done." 

Analyse these lines, and parse the words in italics. 

2. Explain the use of the adjective brave in the first line, and give 
similar instances. (10.) 

3. Write out the past indefinite tense of each of the verbs, toll, go, 
do, fight. (46.) 

SET B. 

1. " Cowards die many times before their death, 

The valiant only taste of death but once," — Shakespeare. 
Analyse these lines, and parse them. 

2. Point out any English terminations in them ; and give instances 
of words with a similar ending. (117.) 

3. What is meant by mood, and how many moods are there ? Write 
out the imperative mood of the verb to die. (38. ) 



SET C. 

1. Parse and analyse the following : — 

"And now a gallant tomb they raise, 
With costly sculptures decked ; 
And marbles storied with his praise 
Poor Gelert's bones protect." 



244 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

2. Distinguish between an inflexion and a, suffix, illustrating your an« 
swer from the lines above. (100.) 

3. Explain the apostrophe in GelerVs. Write down the possessive 
case plural number of woman, ox, mouse, child, and son-in-law. (20.) 

4. When a singular noun ends in an s sound, how is the possessive 
sign affected ? Give examples. (20.) 



SET D. 

1. " Here Ouse, slow winding through a level plain, 

Of spacious meads, with cattle sprinkled o'er- 
Conducts the eye along his sinuous course 
Delighted. " — Cowper. 

Analyse the above, parsing the words in italics. 

2. Mention verbs ending in le, like sprinkle. (118.) 

3. Give examples of adjectives ending in ish and ew, and explain the 
significance of those terminations. (116.) 



SET E. 

1. " Having reached the house, 

I found its rescued inmate safely lodged, 
And in serene possession of himself 
Beside a fire." 

Analyse these lines, and parse the words printed in italics. 

2. What are the different meanings of the English termination en 
when added to a noun, an adjective, and a verb ? Give instances. 
(116-118.) 

3. How would you parse a noun fully ? Explain each term you use, 
11.) 

SET F. 

1. ' ' But now 
To the wide world's astonishment, appeared 
A glorious opening, the unlooked-for dawn 
That promised everlasting joy to France. " 

Analyse these lines, and parse the words printed in italics. 

2. State any English terminations of adjectives which mean belonging 
to, likeness, direction, and negation, and give instances of words in 
which they occur. (116-118.) 

3. What is meant by regular, irregular, auxiliary, defective, tran- 
sitive, and intransitive verbs ? Give examples. 



SET G. 
1. Parse this sentence — 

" He needs strong arms who swims against the tide." 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 245 

2. Say how many sentences there are in this verse, and what is the 
subject and predicate of each — 

1 ' Sweet bird ! thy bower is ever green, 
Thy sky is ever clear ; 
I Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, 

No winter in thy year." 

3. Explain what is meant by a participle, and give examples. (40.) 

4. Show the meaning of the final syllable in each of the following 
words, and give other examples of words of the same formation : 
oxen, golden, darken, bounden, duckling, streamlet, readable, singer, 
peaceful, faithless. (116-118. ) 

SET H. 

"I now gave over any more thoughts of the ship, or of anything out 
of her, except what might drive on shore from her wreck, as indeed 
dicers pieces of her afterwards did ; but those things were of small use 
to me." 

1. Parse the words in italics. 

2. Define the adverb and the preposition, and illustrate the distinc- 
tion by examples from the above sentence. 

3. Give the plural forms of the following pronouns : mine, me, thine, 
sht, him, my, herself, whatever. 



SET I. 

1. "Bounded the fiery steed in air, 

The rider sat erect and fair, 

Then like a bolt from steel cross-bow 

Forth launched, along the plain they go." 

Analyse this passage, and parse the words in italics. 

2. What is case ? How do you know the nominative, possessive, 
and objective cases? (19.) 

3. Point out the affixes, with their meaning, in the following 
words : scholar, goodness, friendship, maiden, speaker, lambkin. 
(116-118.) 

SET K. 

1. Give instances (1) of nouns which have no singular, and (2) of 
nouns which have no plural. 

2. When is the plural suffix s pronounced like z ? (16.) 

3. Parse as fully as you can the words in italics in the following 
lines : — 

" See the dew-drops how they kiss 
Every little flower that is, 
Hanging on their velvet heads 
Like a string of crystal beads." 

4. Analyse the above. 



246 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 



SET L. 



1. Which consonants are called flats, and which are called sharps? 
(6.) 

2. State the distinction between strong and weak verbs ; and give the 
past tense and passive participles of the following verbs : to creep, 
peep, teach, reach, flay, pa;/, slay, read, lead, tread. (43-45.) 

3. Give the comparative and superlative of the adjectives : evil, 
little, fore, old, sad, bad, happy, gay. (33. ) 

4. Parse the following : — 

" Neither a borrower nor a lender be, 
For loan oft loses both itself and friend." 



PUPIL-TEACHERS.— SECOND YEAR. 

Requirements. — Parsing and analysis of sentences, with knowledge 
of the chief Latin prefixes and terminations. Paraphrase of a short 
passage of poetry. 

SET A. 

1. ' ' She, good cateress, 
Means her provision only to the good, 
That live according to her sober laws, 

And holy dictate of spare temperance." — Comus. 

Analyse the above, parsing the words in italics. 

2. What Latin prefixes and terminations do you see in it ? (119- 
121.) 

3. Paraphrase the passage. (" She " refers to " Nature. ") (176.) 

4. How is the prefix in (meaning not) modified in composition ? Give 
instances. (108.) 

SET B. 

" In short, you will find that in the higher and better class of works 
of fiction and imagination, you possess all you require to strike your 
grappling-irons into the souls of the people, and to chain them willing 
followers to the car of civilisation." 

1. Analyse the above passage. 

2. Parse the words in italics. 

3. Show wherein prepositions and conjunctions are like and wherein 
they are unlike. (58.) 

4. When is a noun said to be in the nominative, possessive, and ob- 
jective cases respectively? (19.) 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 247 



SET C. 

1. Analyse the following from the words "then burst his mighty 
heart/* and parse the words in italics : — 

" For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, 
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms, 
Quite vanquished him : then burst his mighty hearty 
And in his mantle muffling up his face, 
Even at the base of Pompey's statua, 
Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. r> — Julius Ccesar. 

2. Point out and explain the force of the adjective suffixes in the 
following : — 

"At which time would I, being but a moonish youth, grieve, be 
effeminate, changeable, proud, fantastical, apish, shallow, inconstant, 
full of tears, full of smiles." — Shakespeare. (123.) 

3. Paraphrase the following : — 

" Music the fiercest grief can charm, 
And fate's severest rage disarm ; 
Music can soften pain to ease, 
And make despair and madness please ; 
Our joys below it can improve, 
And antedate the bliss above." (176.) 



SET D. 

1. "Far up the lengthening lake were spied 

Four darkening specks upon the tide, 
That, slow enlarging on the view, 
Four manned and masted barges grew, 
And, bearing downwards from Glengyle, 
Steered full upon the opening isle." 

Turn this passage into prose. (176.) 

2. Analyse the above passage, and parse the words in italics. 

3. What is the meaning of ad, ex, and ob ? Give words in which 
they occur. How and when are they sometimes changed in composi- 
tion? (107, 108.) 



SET E. 

1. * c Immortal glories in my mind revive, 

And in my soul a thousand passions strive, 
When Rome's exalted beauties I descry, 
Magnificent in piles of ruin fte." — Addison. 
Analyse the above, parsing the Words in italics. 

2. Point out any Latin prefixes in the above, and give their mean- 
ings ; and instance other words in which they occur. (107, 108.) 



248 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

3. Paraphrase the following : — 

"He that holds fast the golden mean, 
And lives contentedly between 

The little and the great, 
Feels not the wants that pinch the poor, 
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door, 
Embittering all his state." (176.) 



SET F. 

" They do not err 
Who say that when the poet dies 
Mute nature moans her worshipper, 
And celebrates his obsequies ; 
Who say tall cliff and cavern lone 
For the departed Bard make moan." 

Paraphrase this passage, analyse the subordinate sentences, and parse 
the words printed in italics. (176.) 

2. What Latin prefixes occur in the above passage ? Mention some 
words in which these prefixes undergo a modification. (107, 108.) 

3. State the various kinds of subordinate sentences. Why are they 
so called ? and how are they distinguished ? (94. ) 



SET G. 

1. " Hadst thou but lived, though stripped of power, 

A watchman on the lonely tower, 

Thy thrilling trump had roused the land, 

When fraud or danger were at hand." 

Paraphrase this passage, analyse it, and parse the words printed in 
italics. (176.) 

2. Give the meanings of the following Latin prefixes, and illustrate 
each by two English words : ad, ante, contra, extra, retro, sub, ultra. 
(107, 108.) 

3. State, with examples, some of the Latin terminations in English 
abstract nouns. (119.) 



SET H. 

i. "The service done, the mourners stood apart ; he called to mind 
how he had seen her sitting on that very spot, and how her book had 
fallen on her lap as she was gazing with a pensive face upon the sky. 
Another told how he had wondered that one so delicate as she should be 
so bold ; how she had never feared to enter the church alone at night.'' 

(a) Point out the subordinate conjunctions in the above. State 
to which class of subordinate conjunctions each belongs, and show why 
such conjunctions are called subordinate. (60.) 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 241) 

(&) Parse the words in italics. 

2. How can you tell when the following are used as adverbs, and 
when as conjunctions? — after, before, since. Give examples of them 
in both uses. (60.) 



SET I. 

1. " The pass was left ; for then they wind 

Along a wide and level green, 

Where neither tree nor tuft was seen." — Scott. 

(a) Show from the above passage that conjunctions may join both 
principal to principal sentences and subordinate to principal sentences. 
(94.) 

(6) Parse the participles in the above, and show how participles dif- 
fer from verbs. (40.) 

2. In analysis an enlargement is said always to be an adjective, or 
to partake of the nature of an adjective. This being so, what parts of 
a sentence are (properly speaking) capable of enlargement ? Give ex- 
amples of such enlargements. (94.) 



SET K. 

1. "It is the first mild day of March, 

Each minute sweeter than before ; 

The redbreast sings from the tall larch 

That stands beside our door. 

My sister ! ('tis a wish of mine) 

Now that our morning meal is done, 

Make haste, your morning tasks resign, 

Come forth, and feel the sun." — Wordsworth. 

(a) How many sentences are there in the above ? Assign each to 
the class to which it belongs. 

(b) Parse the words in italics. 

2. What are corresponding conjunctions ? Give a list of them. 
(60.) 

SET L. 

1. "Before a novice can commence the study of any science, he 
must make himself acquainted with the terms employed in that science. " 

(a) Point out the principal and the adverbial sentence in the above, 
and show why each is so called. (95.) 

(b) Mention other kinds of subordinate sentences besides adverbial, 
and give an example of each. (94.) 

(e) Point out, and carefully parse, the participles and auxiliary 
verbs in the above. 

2. What are causal conjunctions? Why are they so called? Give 
examples. (60.) 



LV)0 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 



PUPIL-TEACHERS.— THIRD YEAR. 

Requirements. — Parsing, analysis, and paraphrasing of complex sen- 
tences. Prefixes and affixes generally. Knowledge of the simple tests 
by which English words may be distinguished from those of foreign 
origin. 

SET A. 

1. Analyse the following, parsing the words in italics : — 

' ' Oh, how it yearned my heart, when I beheld, 
In London streets that coronation day, 
When Bolingbroke rode on roan Barbary ! 
That horse, that thou so often hast bestrid, 
That horse, that I so carefully have dressed ! " — Richard II. 

2. What are impersonal verbs ? Give examples. 

3. What is the origin and force of the particle be in beheld, bestrid? 
Give instances of it as a prefix to nouns. (104.) 

4. Most monosyllabic words are of English origin. Point out any 
exception to this rule in the above. (132.) 



SET B. 

1. "The whole cavalcade paused simultaneously when Jerusalem 
appeared in view ; the greater number fell upon their knees, and laid 
their foreheads in tne dust, whilst a profound silence, more impressive 
than the loudest exclamations, prevailed over all ; even the Moslems 
gazed reverently on what was to them also a holy city, and recalled to 
mind the pathetic appeal of their forefather, ' Hast thou not a bless- 
ing for me, also, my father ? s " 

Paraphrase this passage. (177.) 

2. Point out the subordinate sentences in it, analyse the two last, 
and also parse the last of them. (89.) 

3. Point out also and explain the meaning of any Latin or English 
prefixes in this passage. (104-110.) 



SET C. 

1. Morning fair 

Came forth, with pilgrim steps in amice gray, 
Who with her radiant finger still'd the roar 
Of thunder, chased the clouds, and laid the winds 
And grisly spectres which the fiend had raised." — Milton, 

Analyse the foregoing, parsing the words in italics. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 251 

2. Paraphrase the passage. {A mice means a pilgrim's robe.) (177.) 

3. Point out the prefix in each of the following words : spend, 
enormous, symmetry, accede, pellucid, ignoble, coagulate, suppress, com- 
bustion. (104-112.) 



SET D. 

1. "These feelings I shared in common with the humblest pilgrim 
that was kneeling there, and, in some respects, he had even the advam 
tage of me ; he had made infinitely greater sacrifices than I had done, 
and undergone far heavier toils, to reach that bourne. Undistracted 
by mere temporal associations, he only saw the sacred spot wherein the 
Prophets preached, and David sung, and Christ had died." 

Paraphrase this passage. (177.) 

2. Point out the subordinate sentences in it, analyse the two first, 
and parse the second of them. (90.) 

3. What are the means of readily distinguishing between words of 
English and of Latin origin? Take your examples from the above 
passage. (221.) 



SET E. 

1. " An inadvertent step may crush the snail 

That crawls at evening in the public path ; 
But he that has humanity, forewarned, 
Will tread aside and let the reptile live." 

Analyse the above, parsing the words in italics. 

2. Explain how the word aside is formed, and give instances of 
adverbs of similar formation. (104.) 

3. Point out a Latin prefix and a Latin suffix in the above. (107- 
110.) 

4. Correct, where needful, the following sentences : — 

(a) It is I that he fears. 

(b) He is a boy of nine years old. 

(c) Who can this letter be from ? 

(d) I feel coldly this morning. 



SET F 

1. If enlargements are words and phrases attached to the nouns in a 
sentence, and extensions words or phrases attached to the verbs or 
predicates, assign all the enlargements and extensions which occur in 
the following to their proper classes : — 



(a) " The harp, his sole remaining joy, 
Was carried by an orphan boy.' 1 



252 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

(b) " Ocean and earth, the solid frame of earth, 

And ocean's liquid mass, in gladness lay- 
Beneath him." 

(c) "The sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, 

When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee." 

2. Parse any participles, or verbs in the infinitive mood, which occur 
in the following, and give the meaning of the passage in simple words 
of your own : — 

" Blest be the art that can immortalise, 
The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim 
To quench it." 

3. With what Latin prepositions are the words support, suffice, effect, 
destroy, compounded? Give the meaning of the preposition in each 
case. (107-110.) 



SET G. 

1. Words or phrases attached to the nouns of a sentence are called 
enlargements ; attached to the verbs they are called extensions. Give 
two examples of each. (89.) 

2. " Dost thou so hunger for my empty chair, 

That thou wilt needs invest thee with mine honours ? 

Stay but a little ; for my cloud of dignity 

Is held from falling with so weak a wind, 

That it will quickly drop." — Shakespeare: Henry IV. 

(a) Analyse the last three lines. 

(b) Parse the words in italics. 

(c) Give the meaning of the above passage in your own words, ex- 
plaining, so far as you can, the figures and metaphors. 

3. What are the Latin prepositions that mean out of, from, under ? 
Give examples of words in which they occur, pointing out the force of 
the preposition in' each case. (107.) 



SET H. 

1. What is the derivation of the word transitive, and how is the 
derivation connected with the use of the words transitive, intransitive, 
in grammar ? 

2. "When I came to my castle I fled into it like one pursued; 
whether I went over by the ladder or went in at the hole which I 
called a door, I cannot remember ; no, nor could I remember the next 
morning ; for never frighted hare fled to cover, or fox to earth, with 
more terror of mind than I to this retreat." — Defoe. 

{a) Analyse the above passage from "When I came" to "next 
morning." (94.) 

(6) Parse the words in italics. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. >Jo3 



SET I. 

1. "And waiting to be treated like a wolf, 

Because I knew my crimes were known, I found, 

Instead of scornful pity, such a grace 

Of tenderest courtesy, that I began 

To glance behind me at my former life, 

And find that it had been the wolf's indeed." — Tennyson. 

(a) Point out the noun sentences in the above, and analyse them. 
(95.) 

(b) Point out any enlargement of the subject or extension of the 
predicate that you notice in the above. (93.) 

(c) Parse all the participles and verbs in the infinitive mood that 
occur in the above. 

2. Of what Latin prepositions are the following words compounded : 
■Amputate, efface, circuit, collision, preface, succeed, suffuse, sojourn, 
tradition." (107-110.) 

SET K. 

1. "It is great sin to swear unto a sin, 

But greater sin to keep a sinful oath. 
Who can be bound by any solemn vow 
To do a murderous deed, to rob a man, 
To reave the orphan of his patrimony 
And have no other reason for this wrong 
But that he was bound by a solemn oath ? " 

— King Henry VI. 

(a) Parse all the words in the last line. 

(b) Analyse the two sentences contained in the last two lines, 
supplying any words that are required to make the analysis complete. 

N.B. — Take care to point out the character of each sentence. (95.) 

(c) When is the infinitive mood used without being preceded by the 
word to ? Give examples of this from the above passage, and mention 
others that occur to you. (39.) 

2. Write the subject-matter of a lesson on either of the following : 
Mood, Tense. 

3. Give the Latin prepositions that mean under, with, across, out of. 
(107-110.) 

SET L. 

1. "The voice of Enid rang 

Clear through the open casement of the hall, 

Singing ; and as the sweet voice of a bird 

Heard by the lander in a lonely isle 

Moves him to think what kind of bird it is 

That sings so delicately clear, and make 

Conjecture of the plumage and the form ; 

So the sweet voice of Enid moved him." — Tennyson. 



254 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

(a) Point out and analyse the noun sentence in the above passage. 
(94.) 

(6) Parse the participles and infinitive moods in the above passage. 
(39, 40.) 

(c) Explain how the word what is used in the fifth line, and give 
other uses of the same word. (27. ) 

(d) Give the meaning of the above passage in plain, simple words of 
your own. (177.) 

2. Give examples of words compounded with the Latin preposition 
in (meaning in, into). Mention some words in which the affix in has 
quite a different meaning, and state what that meaning is. (105.) 



PUPIL-TEACHERS.— FOURTH YEAR. 

Requirements. — Fuller knowledge of grammar and analysis, and of the 
common Latin roots of English words. Outline of the history of the 
language and literature. 



SET A. 

1. fC Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, 

Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round, 
And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn 
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups 
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each, 
So let us welcome peaceful evening in." 

Analyse the above passage, and parse the words in italics. (95. ) 

2. From what source is the word sofa derived ? Mention other 
words derived from the same source. (263.) 

3. To what dates and events would you assign the adoption and the 
discontinuance of French as the language of the Court and nobility in 
England? (226.) 

4. Name the authors of the following works : ' Paradise Lost,' 
'The Faery Queen,' 'Vanity Fair,' 'Robinson Crusoe,' 'The Task,' 
' Kenil worth,' ' The Excursion,' ' The Idylls of the King.' (369.) 



SET B. 

1. "And 0, ye swelling hills and spacious plains ! 

Besprent from shore to shore with steeple-towers, 
And spires whose silent finger points to heaven ; 
Nor wanting, at wide intervals, the bulk 
Of ancient minster lifted above the cloud 
Of the dense air, which town or city breeds. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 255 

To intercept the sun's glad beams — may ne'er 
That true succession fail of English hearts, 
Who, with ancestral feeling, can perceive 
What in those holy structures ye possess 
Of ornamental interest." 

Paraphrase this passage. (177.) 

2. Point out in it the subordinate sentences, and analyse and parse 
fully the last sentence. (95.) 

3. What kinds of English words are derived from the Anglo-Saxon 
language ? State any difference in inflexion between the English and 
Anglo-Saxon languages. (202. ) 



SET C. 

1» " The poet, fostering for his native land 

Such hope, entreats that servants may abound 
Of those pure altars worthy ; ministers 
Detached from pleasure, to the love of gain 
Superior, insusceptible of pride, 
And by ambitious longings undisturbed ; 
Men whose delight is where their duty leads 
Or fixes them ; whose least distinguished day 
Shines with some portion of that heavenly lustre 
Which makes the Sabbath lovely in the sight 
Of blessed angels, pitying human cares." 

Paraphrase this passage. (177.) 

2. Point out the subordinate sentences in it, and analyse and parse 
fully the noun sentence. Point out also any adjectives of Latin origin. 
(95, 109.) 

3. State the various ways by which words of Latin origin have 
been introduced into our language. (209.) 



SET D. 

1. "It is well known to the learned that the ancient laws of Attica 
rendered the exportation of figs criminal — that being supposed a 
species of fvuit so excellent in Attica that the Athenians deemed it too 
delicious for the palate of any foreigners ; and in this ridiculous pro- 
hibition they were so much in earnest that informers were thence 
called sycophants among them." — Hume. 

Analyse each of the sentences in the above which begins with the 
word that. (95.) 

2. Parse each word in the following : " That being supposed a 
species of fruit so excellent." 

3. Write out a list of words compounded or derived from the Latin 
verbs, amo. duco,fero, audio. (132, 133.) 



256 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 



SET E. 

1. " 'Twas now a place of punishment ; 

Whence if so loud a shriek were sent, 
As reached the upper air, 
The hearers blessed themselves and said, 
The spirits of the sinful dead 
Bemoaned their torments there. " 

Analyse this passage, and parse the words in italics. 

2. From what Latin roots are the following words derived ? library, 
locomotion, eloquence, elucidate, legitimate, lunatic, extravagant. (132- 
134.) 

3. When did the following writers live, and what are their principal 
works? Spenser, Pope, Milton, Locke, Bacon, Chaucer. (368.) 



SET F. 

1. " Learning hath his infancy, when it is but beginning and almost 
childish : then his youth, when it is luxuriant and juvenile : then his 
strength of years, when it is solid and reduced : and lastly his old age, 
when it waxeth dry and exhaust. But it is not good to look too long 
upon these turning wheels of vicissitude, lest we become giddy." — Bacon. 

Analyse this passage down to the word " exhaust, " and parse the 
words in italics. (95.) 

2. Comment on the use of the pronoun his in it, and mention any 
similar use of it in another passage. (24.) 

3. Point out any words in the above which have a Latin root. 
(132, 133.) 

4. Mention any great writers in the eighteenth century and their 
works. (378, 379.) 



SET G. 

1. "Be useful where thou livest, that they may 

Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still. 
Kindness, good parts, great places, are the way 

To compass this. Find out men's wants and will, 
And meet them there. All worldly joys go less 
To the one joy of doing kindnesses." — George Herbert, 1633, 

(a) "Write out the meaning of the above in your own words. (177.> 

(b) Parse the words in italics. 

(c) Analyse the first two lines. (95.) 

(d) How is the word that used in the first line ? Give examples of 
the different ways in which the word that is employed. (60.) 

2. Mention some of the classes of words in our language which are 
generally of Latin origin. Give examples. (234.) 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 257 



SET H. 

1. Analyse the following, parsing the words in italics : — 

' ' No voice divine the storm allayed ; 
No light propitious shone ; 
When, far from all effectual aid, 
We perished — each alone ; 
But / beneath a rougher sea 
And whelmed in blacker gulfs than he." — Covyper. 

2. Point out any words in the above derived from Latin, or from 
Latin through French. (220.) 

3. In English almost any part of speech may be used as any other 
part of speech. Illustrate this. (62.) 

4. To what period of our literature do the following writers respec- 
tively belong? Alfred the Great, Chaucer, Spenser, Cowper. (368.) 



SET I. 

1. "I would the great world grew like thee, 

Who grewest not alone in power 
And knowledge, but from hour to hour 
In reverence and in charity." — Tennyson. 

Analyse this stanza ; and explain, if you can, its metre. (95, 178.) 

2. Give the etymology and exact meaning of as many of the follow- 
ing words as you can : fortress, fortitude, subscribe, superior, domina- 
tion, rectitude, impossible, construction, export. (132, 133.) 

3. Give an example of an "infinitive of purpose"; and also of an 
infinitive used as equivalent to a noun. (82.) 

4. Say what you know about the life and writings of Milton, Pope, 
or Dr Johnson. (368.) 



SET K. 

1. Break up the following complex sentence into simple sentences, 
beginning a new line with each simple sentence : — 

" All crimes shall cease and ancient frauds shall fail, 
Returning justice lift aloft her scale, 
Peace o'er the world her olive wand extend, 
And white-robed Innocence from heaven descend." 

2. Parse the verbs and participles in the above. 

3. What conjunctions should be followed by the subjunctive mood? 
Give four examples, using a different conjunction in each. (60.) 

4. Point out which of the following words are of Keltic, and which 
are of Saxon origin ; and state what class of things (generally) have 
Keltic names : sheep, ship, bread, milk, basket, mop, mattock, pail. 
(206.) 



258 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 



SET L. 



1. Are Anglo-Saxon and English different languages? or what is 
their relation to one another? (206.) 

2. "The Batavian territory, conquered from the waves and defended 
against them by human art, was in extent little superior to the princi- 
pality of Wales ; but all that narrow space was a busy and populous 
hive, in which new wealth was every day created, and in which vast 
nasses of old wealth were hoarded." — Macaulay. 

(a) How many different sentences are contained in the above ? 
Assign each to its proper class. 

(b) Parse the words in italics. 

3. When should the word the be considered as an adverb ? Give 
instances. (30. ) 



SCHOLARSHIP 

SET A. 

( Two hours and a half allowed for this paper. ) 

No abbreviation of less than three letters to be used in parsing or 
analysis. All candidates must do the composition, parsing, and 
analysis. 

Composition. 

Write a letter, or an essay, on one of the following subjects : — 

(a) Your favourite flowers, and the way to cultivate them. 

(b) The moral lessons of the microscope and the telescope. 

(c) The advantages and disadvantages of town life as compared with 
life in the country. 

(d) Examinations. (159.) 



Grammar. 

1. Parse the words in italics in the following passage, not omitting 
to give and explain their syntax : — 

"Breathes there a man With soul so dead 
Who never to himself hath said, 
This is my own, my native land ! 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned 
As home his footsteps he hath turned 
From wandering on a foreign strand ? 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell 1 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 2 59 

High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth, as wish can claim, 
Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 
The wretch concentred all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung.'''' 

2. Analyse either the first or the last half of the above passage into 
its component sentences, and show in separate columns — 

(a) The nature of the sentence. 

(b) (If dependent) its relation to the principal sentence. 

(c) .Subject. (d) Its enlargements (if any). 
(e) Predicate. (/) Its extensions (if any). 

(g) Object (if any). (h) Its enlargements (if any). (95.) 

3. Explain by a paraphrase, or otherwise, the portion of the passage 
which you take for analysis. (177.) 

4. Examine and illustrate the etymology of any five of the following 
words from the above : Own, native, whose, heart, foreign, minstrel, 
raptures, titles, boundless, claim, wretch, concentred, forfeit, renown. 
(127-144.) 

5. Distinguish common, proper, and abstract nouns, — cardinal and 
ordinal numbers, — intransitive and neuter verbs, — continuative and dis- 
junctive conjunctions, — personal, possessive, reflexive, and relative 
pronouns. 

6. It is often said that English is less of an inflected language in its 
latter than in its earlier stages. Explain what is meant by this, and 
give a few instances of inflexion in English as now spoken. (61.) 

7. Show by examples how analysis helps us to parse correctly. 
(90.) 

8. At which periods, and in connection with what events, in the 
history of this island, did the most important changes take place in the 
language of the inhabitants ? Illustrate your answer. (202-238.) 



SET B. 

{Directions as in A.) 

Composition. 

Write a letter, or an essay, on one of the following subjects : — 

(a) Singing birds. 

(b) Fairy tales. 

(c) Best way of spending holidays. 

(d) Advantages of the study and knowledge of geography. (159.) 

Grammar. 

1. Parse the words in italics in the following passage, not omitting 
to give and explain their syntax : — 



260 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

" I met a traveller from an antique land, 

Who said : 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the Desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half-sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that the sculptor well those passions read 
Which still survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that/ed.* 
And on the pedestal these words appear : 
* My name is Ozymandias, King of kings ; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair ! * 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, 
The lone and level sands stretch far away. " 

2. Analyse either the first or the last half of the above passage. 
(95.) 

3. Explain by a paraphrase, or otherwise, the passage from "Near 
them " down to " that fed." (177.) 

4. Examine and illustrate the etymology of any five of the follow- 
ing words from the above sonnet : traveller, visage, passions, survive, 
despair, level, boundless, lone, decay, colossal, desert, lip, pedestal. (100- 
144.) 

5. Show by definition and examples what is meant by (a) substan- 
tive, (b) intransitive, (c) passive, (d) defective, (e) strong (irregular) 
and (/) weak (regular) verbs. To which of the two last-named classes 
would you refer the verbs to lead, to spread, to show, to sweep, to spend ? 
and why? (34-56.) 

6. Give your definition of an adverb, a preposition, and a conjunc- 
tion, and show by examples the difference between each of them and 
the other two. Can you mention any words belonging to these three 
classes which cannot be parsed without knowing their position in a 
sentence? (57-60.) 

7. Give a short historical sketch, «with dates, of the origin and 
growth of the English language. (199-201.) 



SET C. 

(Directions as in A.) 
Composition. 

"Write a letter on one of the following subjects 

(1) Gardening. 

(2) A storm at sea. 

(3) A day's angling. 

(4) Some public park. (159.) 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 261 



Grammar. 



1. Parse fully the words italicised in the following sentences (syntax 
is an essential part of parsing) : — 

' ' For who would bear 
The insolence of office and the spurns 
That patient merit of the unicorthy takes, 
But that the dread of something after death, 
The undiscovered country from whose bourne 
No traveller returns, puzzles the will, 
And makes us rather bear those ills we have 
Than fly to others that we know not of? " 

2. Analyse the sentence in Question 1. (86-99.) 

3. Select and classify the pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions 
in the same sentence. 

4. Explain the terms cardinal, ordinal, and indefinite numerals, and 
give examples of each. (29-31.) 

5. Give the past tenses of the verbs croiv, hew, sing, win, help, bid, 
chide, write, dig, lie, get, shear, and any obsolete forms of those tenses. 
(46, 47.) 

6. Classify the English conjunctions, and show that they are fre- 
quently derived from verbs. 

7. Explain the force of the following affixes : -dom, as in martyr- 
dom ; -some, as in handsome ; -less, as in speechless ; -ible, as in inflex- 
ible ; and give other examples of each affix. (100-124.) 

8. Define a preposition, and show by examples that prepositions do 
not always precede the noun they govern. (58. ) 

9. Give examples of noun, adjective, and adverbial clauses, em- 
ployed as subordinate sentences. (95.) 

10. Name the sources of our language from which the following 
words are derived : hat, shoe, vest, glove, sock, bonnet, ribbon, tunic, 
shirt. (128-144.) 



SET D. 

(Directions as in A.) 

Composition. 

Write a letter, or an essay, on one of the following subjects : — 

(a) Common fruits. 

(b) Football. 

(c) Modes of travelling. 

(d) The advantages and disadvantages of living in an old, or in a 
newly settled, country, compared. (159.) 

Grammar. 
1. Parse the words in italics in the following passage, not omitting 



.262 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

to give and explain their syntax, and carefully distinguishing the 
words which occur twice over : — 

" For therein stands the office of a King, 
His honour, virtue, merit, and chief praise, 
That for the public such a weight he bears. 
Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules 
Passions, desires, and fears, is more a King : 
Which every wise and virtuous man attains ; 
And who attains not, ill aspires to rule 
Cities of men or headstrong multitudes, 
Subject himself to anarchy within, 
Or lawless passions in him, which he serves." 

2. Analyse the passage. (95.) 

3. Of the 15 nouns in the above passage, 5 are of Anglo-Saxon, 8 of 
Latin, and 2 of Greek origin. Classify them accordingly. About which 
word only may there be a difference of opinion, and why? (131-137.) 

4. Make a list of the auxiliary verbs, distinguishing those of mood 
from those of tense. (53.) 

5. Give examples of English words in which differences of (a) case, 
{b) number, (c) gender, (d) degree, (e) mood, (/) tense, (g) voice, are 
indicated by changes in the form of the word itself {inflexion). (11.) 

6. Point out the historical order in which the several foreign ele- 
ments were incorporated into the English language. During what 
period did English seem to be dying oat, and under what circum- 
stances and influences did it revive? (198-202.) 



SET E. 

{Two hours and a half allowed for this paper.) 

No abbreviation of less than three letters to be used in parsing or analysis. 

Section I. — Parse fully the words in italics in the following pas- 
sages (syntax should not be neglected in the parsing) : — 

" Yet mourn not, Land of Fame, 
Though ne'er the Leopards on thy shield 
Retreated from so sad a field, 
Since Norman William came. 
Oft may thine annals justly boast 
Of battles stern by Scotland lost ; 
Grudge not her victory. 
When for her freebom rights she strove, 
Kigh f s dear to all who freedom love, 
To none so dear as thee." 

"One evening, as the Emperor was returning to the palace through a 
narrow portico, an assassin who waited his passage rushed upon him 
with a drawn sword, loudly exclaiming, ' The Senate sends you this.' 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 263 

Section II. —Point out the subjects, predicates, and objects, with 
their extensions, enlargements, or complements (if any), in the follow- 
ing sentences : — 

Remember, prince, that thou shalt die. 

Whoever reflects upon the uncertainty of his own life, will find out 
that the state of others is not more permanent. 

This exuberance of money displayed itself in wantonness of expense, 
and procured for me the acquaintance of others equally favoured by 
Fortune. (95.) 

Section III. — Point out clearly the relations which the sentences 
included in brackets in the following passages bear to their principal 
sentences, and give your reasons for assigning each relation : — 

He (that would pass the latter part of his life with honour) must 
(when he is young) consider (that he shall one day be old) and re- 
member (when he is old) (that he has once been young). (95.) 

(When Socrates was building himself a house) being asked by one 
(who observed the littleness of the design) (why a man so eminent 
would not have an abode more suitable to his dignity) he replied (that 
he should think himself sufficiently accommodated) (if he could see 
that narrow habitation filled with real friends). 

Section IV. — 1. Explain the term "case." Show that there are 
generally only two forms of case in English, and give words that em- 
ploy more than two forms. 

Explain how the possessive case is written in English, with any 
exceptions to the general rules. (19-22.) 

2. What does the term conjugation include ? Name some of the 
English defective verbs. What condition is expressed by a subjunc- 
tive mood ? Give examples of sentences, showing varieties of that 
condition. (42-56.) 

3. What is meant by saying that prepositions express relations ? 
Give examples to show that the principal relations are those of cause, 
place, and time. (58-60.) 

Section V. — In the following passages select words containing 
Latin prefixes ; convert also the nouns into adjectives by means of 
suffixes, giving the force of each prefix and suffix. (107-110.) 

Pity presupposes sympathy. 

He satisfies his ambition with the fame he shall acquire. 

Lawful authority is seldom resisted. 

Extravagance, though suggested by vanity and excited by luxury, 
seldom procures applause. 

The passions continue their tyranny with incessant demands for 
indulgence, and life evaporates into vain repentance or impotent 
appetite. 

Section VI. — Write full notes of a lesson on one of the following 
subjects : — 

{a) Concords of verb and subject. 

(b) Complements or extensions of the predicate. 



264 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

(c) The advantages of learning Latin grammar, or some other gram- 
mar than English. 

Section VII. — Write a letter descriptive of — 

(a) Some outdoor school game. 
Or, (b) A shipwreck. 
Or, (c) The beauties of summer. 
Or, {d) Your favourite walk. 

Underline any words you have used that are of Latin origin. 
(159.) 



SET F. 

(Directions as in E.) 

Section I. — Parse fully the words in italics in the following pas- 
sages (syntax should not be neglected in the parsing) : — 

" The better days of life were ours ; 

The worst can be but mine : 
The sun that cheers, the storm that lowers, 

Shall never more be thine. 
The silence of that dreamless sleep 
I envy now too much to weep ; 

Nor need I to repine 
That all those charms have passed away 
I might have watched through long decay." 

" The flower in ripened bloom unmatched 
Must fall the earliest prey ; 
Though by no hand untimely snatched, 
The leaves must drop away." 

Section II. — Analyse the principal sentences in the following pas- 
sage ; and state the nature of the subordinate sentences, pointing out 
the sentences upon which they depend : — 

" This mother is still alive, and may perhaps even yet, though her 
malice was often defeated, enjoy the pleasure of reflecting that the life, 
which she often endeavoured to destroy, was at last shortened by her 
maternal offices, and that, though she could not transport her son to 
the plantations, she has had the satisfaction of forcing him into exi- 
gencies that hurried on his death." (95.) 

Section III. — Select and classify the adverbs and conjunctions in 
the passage given above. (57-60.) 

Section IV. 1 — 1. Give examples of reflective, distributive, and in- 
terrogative pronouns. State the differences in usage of the relative 
pronouns who, which, and what. (27.) 

2. Explain the term preposition. What are the principal relations 

1 Only one of these questions is to be answered. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 2(55 

indicated by prepositions ? Give examples of compound prepositions, 
formed by prefixing simple prepositions to nouns and adjectives. (59.) 
3. Explain the terms adjective and adverbial clauses. Give sen- 
tences showing that these clauses are equivalent to simple adjectives 
or adverbs. (89, 90.) 

Section V. — Select twelve of the following words, show how they 
are compounded, and derive their meaning from the meaning of their 
component parts : but, since, except, become, amongst, between, al- 
though, astray, perhaps, whither, good-bye, towards, forsooth, despite t 
gosling, boyhood, kingdom, complex. 

Section VI. — Write full notes of a lesson on one of the following 
subjects : — 

(a) Interrogative pronouns. 

(b) Moods of verbs. 

(c) Analysis of a simple sentence. 

Section VII. — Write a letter descriptive of — 

(a) The plan of some large town. 
Or, (6) A visit to a factory. 
Or, (c) A ramble by a river-side. 
Or, (d) A day's skating. (156.) 



SET G. 
{Two hours and a half allowed for this paper.) 

No abbreviation of less than three letters to be used in parsing or analysis. 
Candidates must not answer more than one question in each of the Sections IV., V., VX 

Composition. 

Write a letter descriptive of — 

(1) The early signs of Spring. 
Or, (2) Some Museum with which you are acquainted. 
Or, (3) Some act of kindness or heroism which you may have wit- 
nessed. 
Or, (4) Some of the difficulties of a young teacher's life. (159.) 

Section I. — Parse fully the words italicised in the following sen- 
tences (syntax is an essential part of parsing) : — 

" Yet live there still, who can remember well 
How when a mountain- chief his bugle blew, 
Both field and forest, dingle, cliff, and dell, 
And solitary heath the signal knew ; 
And fast the faithful clan around him drew, 
What time the warning note was keenly wound. 
What time aloft their kindred banner flew, 
While clamorous war-pipes yelled the gathering sound, 
And while the Fiery Cross glanced, like a meteor, round.** 



266 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

Section II. — Analyse the following sentences, making a table, show- 
ing in separate columns : — 

(1) The nature of the sentence. 

(2) (If dependent) its relation to the principal sentence. 

(3) Subject. 

(4) Its enlargement (if any). 

(5) Predicate. 

(6) Its extensions (if any). 

(7) Object. 

(8) Its enlargement (if any). 

How to deal with him was a puzzling question. 

While the lion and tiger were tearing each other, the jackal had 
run off into the jungle with the prey. 

" Who spills the foremost foeman's life, 
His party conquers in the strife." 

" If I suffer causeless wrong, 

Is then my selfish rage so strong, 
My sense of public weal so low, 
That for mere vengeance on a foe 
Those cords of love I should unbind 
Which knit my country and my kind ? " 

Section III. — Select and classify the pronouns, conjunctions, and 
adverbs in the sentences given above. 

Section IV. — 1. Write out rules for the spelling of those classes 
of words which include receiving, judgment, changeable, so far as 
relates to the part of the word printed in italic type. 

2. Explain the terms reflexive, indefinite, and show in what sense 
they are applied to some of the parts of speech. (25. ) 

3. Explain the term subjunctive mood, and give examples of its 
uses. (80.) 

Section V. — 1. Show that the following words may represent two or 
more parts of speech : next, under, till, by, that, like. 

2. Derive the following words : compact, arrange, acquaint, algebra, 
geography, dissuade, abroad, precede, suspend. 

3. Give a noun, an adjective, and a verb, formed from each of the 
following Latin words : disco, sedeo, scribo, verto, duco, dico. (131.) 

Section VI. — 1. State whether the concords in the following sen- 
tences are incorrect, and give the proper rule of concord in each 
case : — (76.) 

Neither she nor James were there. 

Either Mary or Jane must fetch me their rake. 

Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather ' were written for his grandchildren. 

2. Explain the terms metaphor, simile, and give appopriate ex- 
amples. (174.) 

3. Give examples of defective English verbs, and show how the 
deficiencies are supplied. (53.) 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 267 



SET H. 

Section V. — 1. What attempts have been made to classify the 
English irregular verbs ? Supply a brief classified list of these verbs. 
(43,) 

2. What are participles, and to what uses are they applied in the 
formation of sentences ? (40. ) 

Section VI. — 1. How do you distinguish between adverbs and 
conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions, adverbs and adjectives? (102.) 

2. Give instances of the employment of adverbial and prepositional 
phrases, and classify them according to their meaning. (90. ) 

Section VII. — Account historically for the presence of so many 
words of foreign origin in the English language. (204.) 



SET I. 

Section I. — Parse the words in italics in the following 

"The monarch saw, and shook, 

And bade no more rejoice ; 
All bloodless waxed his look, 

And tremulous his voice: 
Let the men of lore appear, 

The wisest of the earth, 
And expound the words of fear 

That mar our royal mirth." 

Envy is of all crimes the basest : for malice and anger are appeased 
with benefits, but envy is exasperated, as envying to fortunate persons 
both their power and their wish to do good. 

Write the first passage in simple prose. (177.) 

Section n. — Analyse the following passages : — 

" Yet time may diminish the pain : 

The flower and the shrub and the tree, 
Which I reared for her pleasure in vain, 
In time may have comfort for me." 

After men have travelled through a few stages in vice, shame for- 
sakes them and turns back to wait upon the few virtues they have 
still remaining. 

Section III. — Give the author, and name of poem from which taken, 
of some (not more than six) of the following lines : — 

A primrose by a river's brim. 

Some village Hampden that with dauntless breast. 

We watched her breathing through the night. 

O Solitude ! where are the charms. 

The world was all before them where to choose. 

He prayeth best, who loveth best all things both great and small. 



268 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 

Our glorious Semper Eadem, the banner of our pride. 

The quality of mercy is not strained. 

O woman ! in our hours of ease. 

Higher still and higher from the earth thou springest. 

There are seven pillars of Gothic mould. 

Now's the day and now's the hour. 

Section IV. — Classify in parallel columns — 

1. The following nouns as common, proper, collective, abstract, or 
in any other way : Mob, sheep, man, William, maid-servant, army, 
Russia, aunt, scissors, parent, authoress, pride, vixen, dream, flock, 
dragon. (9.) 

Or, 2. The following pronouns as personal, relative, interrogative, 
possessive, or in any other way : Mine, this, each, who, that, what, 
any, she, all, we, himself, whatever. (24.) 

Or, 3. The following verbs as transitive or intransitive, regular or 
irregular, weak or strong, or in any other way : Fetch, can, love, 
regard, speak, come, bring, go, sing, become, hang, do, will, carry. 
(35.) 

Section V. — 1. Write down the comparative and superlative 
degrees of old, bad, much, late, fat, wilful, amiable, clumsy, decent. 
Name some comparatives and superlatives that have no positive. 
(32.) 

Or, 2. The past tenses and passive participles of the verbs begin, 
sting, bear, speak, tread, drive, swear, smite. Name also some defec- 
tive verbs. (53.) 

Or, 3. The meaning of the Latin prepositions ante, pro3, and sub, 
used in composition as prefixes, with examples of each meaning. 
(107.) 

Section VI. — Write full notes of a lesson on one of the following 
subjects : (a) Abstract nouns ; (6) Prepositions of place ; (c) Analysis 
of sentences containing adjective clauses. 

Section VII. — Write a letter descriptive of — (a) Some manufactur- 
ing process ; (b) The locality of your town or village ; (c) The story of 
Grace Darling ; (d) The Prince of Wales's visit to India. (159.) 

Underline in the letter any words you know to be of Latin origin. 



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